tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1151798681951781536Fri, 26 Oct 2018 09:23:43 +0000family lifehome educationknittingreadingmomentsfriendssewinggardeninggratitudesrecipeplay dateschildren's bookscookingwalkingAlphabet Photography Projectcampinggentle parentinghealthy eatingnature studyoutdoor playvegetarianrhythmfestivalsCanoeingindependent playSlow Living Essentialsauthenticitybiodynamic gardeningtutorialbirthdayscarnival of natural parentingseasonal tabledays outdeclutteringnatural hometrustD of E Awardcreative playimaginationswimmingvolunteering#ayearinbooks#writealmautonomous learningbook reviewgratitudesimple living#slow livingIn my Kitchenurticaria#116 Mukluk SlippersAntler Cardiganbalancecontrolfoodphotosspringtraditionswaldorf dollwinterShalom Cardiganbicarbcelebrationschallenging behaviourclimbingcomplianceconfidencemusicorganisingplanningplayrespectsimply living blog carnivalstorysacktoysClaire MontgomerieImbolcKithMukluk SlippersThe Devil's Acrechangecraftingdolls clotheshistamine 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museumsustainablemumWeaving the Fabric of Lifehttp://sustainable-mum.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.com (sustainablemum)Blogger787125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1151798681951781536.post-3926539382360673449Tue, 16 Aug 2016 09:27:00 +00002016-08-16T10:27:20.679+01:00family lifereadingAround Here<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mPrWfhn-jOA/V7LcCSl1gRI/AAAAAAAADkk/A6Zflqp7wgMTYnStHDrUzpuNX13fEYpEgCLcB/s1600/IMG_2600.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="425" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mPrWfhn-jOA/V7LcCSl1gRI/AAAAAAAADkk/A6Zflqp7wgMTYnStHDrUzpuNX13fEYpEgCLcB/s640/IMG_2600.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cXr0RZE7PuY/V7LcDkdV2jI/AAAAAAAADko/4v4CX_f0lSwWceSSIgKa0dNQusp6exNqgCLcB/s1600/IMG_2599.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cXr0RZE7PuY/V7LcDkdV2jI/AAAAAAAADko/4v4CX_f0lSwWceSSIgKa0dNQusp6exNqgCLcB/s640/IMG_2599.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />Well that was a long break! &nbsp;I hadn't intended to pause quite so long between posts but life has been busy trundling along and blogging has very much taken a back seat.<br /><br />Inspired by this lovely&nbsp;<a href="https://theparentingpassageway.com/" target="_blank">blogger</a>&nbsp;I have been doing some planning. &nbsp;I usually think ahead to our next project(s) but these past few weeks I have planning much further ahead. &nbsp;She planted a seed a while ago now when she blogged about planning for a whole year at a time. &nbsp;When I first read the post I thought it would never work for us, but the thoughts stayed with me and so I found myself sitting down and planning a whole year for Cameron. &nbsp;At the moment it is mostly just a framework, I have organised the first six weeks and will work on the next six soon, with our Advent project that will take us to Christmas. &nbsp;I spend quite a bit of time each weekend planning the following week and whilst I will still have to do a little each week I am hoping it will reduce the time I need to spend. &nbsp;In a way I had already started to do this as the work I am doing with Alice at the moment we started back at Easter and it will take us up to Advent. &nbsp;I will plan her next year in early 2017. <br /><br />We have been enjoying lots of lovely books recently. &nbsp;I read a chapter book to them both every lunchtime, it always needs to be suitable for them both and is often aimed at Alice rather than Cameron, to balance things up for him I also read them a different book each at night. &nbsp;We are on Swallows and Amazons for Cameron and the Little House in the Big Woods for Alice, these are both my old copies from my childhood, the latter I bought when I was seven the former when I was twelve. &nbsp;It has been lovely to revisit these old favourites. &nbsp;I am reading a fascinating History book myself, about the social history of the <a href="https://wordery.com/oid=1165_1?utm_source=linkshare&amp;utm_campaign=Affiliate&amp;utm_content=10&amp;utm_affiliate=TnL5HPStwNw&amp;utm_medium=affiliate" target="_blank">Home</a> during the different periods of prehistory. &nbsp;The author is an archaeologist who has been working on this period for many years, I have read other books by him and have enjoyed them. &nbsp;I am glad I found this on the shelves of my library.<br /><br />Last Friday I had intended to write a <a href="http://sustainable-mum.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/daybook" target="_blank">daybook</a> post, the in the kitchen and around the house categories would have made interesting reading on that day. &nbsp;I had taken delivery of a big food order from a wholesale company part of which was frozen. &nbsp;We have a large chest freezer in our garage which was in desperate need of some attention, it is not it was full but there was not much space due to the large quantity of ice that had built up inside. &nbsp;In order to be able to get the vegetables, fruit and butter in there I needed to empty it and scrape out the ice. &nbsp;Have you ever emptied your freezer and found unexplained objects in there, perhaps it is just me, I think I went through a period of not labelling things thinking I would remember what they were! &nbsp;The ice came out easily, not really knowing what to do with it I put it in the bath to defrost! &nbsp;The unexplained objects were put in boxes in the kitchen to defrost along with several very old (2011) bags of fruit, we had a delicious blackberry and apple crumble for tea that night. &nbsp;Now that the frozen items were dealt with I could check the rest of the order off which resulted in big bags of food on the hall and porch floors. &nbsp;Cameron slept through all these goings on (he was very tired after a long cycle ride with friends the day before) and when he did he was most bemused by the ice in the bath and the food all over the floor!<br /><br />We visited a local pick your own recently, it is a place that I have driven past numerous times but have never actually been too I wanted to take a look round to see what it was like. &nbsp;It was a really wet day and we were the only ones there, but we came home with four kilos of plums and plans to visit again, hopefully to pick apples and pears in a few weeks time. &nbsp;I have had a go at fermenting some of the plums, not sure how they will turn out but they smell good! &nbsp;The emptying of the freezer made me realise how many blackcurrants I have in there so I have used a kilo to try my hand at blackcurrant vinegar. &nbsp;We have tasted this but have never made it before, I will let you know how I get on. &nbsp;The weather here has been cool and wet for the past three weeks but that has gone now and it has warmed up considerably and everything is drying out. &nbsp;I have been wanting to pick some comfrey leaves to make into a salve, I already have some plantain leaves soaking in oil to do the same with them, but they need to dry when you pick them. &nbsp;I think that will be this weeks job as long as the weather holds!<br /><br />I would like to say a huge thank you for the wonderfully supportive comments on the recent post I wrote about <a href="http://sustainable-mum.blogspot.co.uk/2016/07/critiquing-unknown.html" target="_blank">home education</a>. &nbsp;They were very comforting to read, thank you all so much.<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/sustainablemum/~4/Hct7CaVhGaM" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/sustainablemum/~3/Hct7CaVhGaM/around-here.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (sustainablemum)30http://sustainable-mum.blogspot.com/2016/08/around-here.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1151798681951781536.post-7759957979323074111Sun, 07 Aug 2016 11:25:00 +00002016-08-07T12:25:08.944+01:00gardeningHow does your garden grow?Another month on and my garden is still doing well. &nbsp;We went away for a fairly long period at the beginning of July and I was worried how the garden would fare in our absence. &nbsp;We are fortunate to have a lovely neighbour who is always more than happy to water it and generally keep an eye on it whilst we are away.<br /><br />I am not going to take you another tour as I did <a href="http://sustainable-mum.blogspot.co.uk/2016/07/how-does-your-garden-grow.html" target="_blank">last month</a>&nbsp;just show you what has changed and grown.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5oMFsD0KNBI/V6cKyEecaRI/AAAAAAAADi8/8iUhnoAffvkzG7-bHGQUyew9SmCTtnPOgCLcB/s1600/IMG_2569.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5oMFsD0KNBI/V6cKyEecaRI/AAAAAAAADi8/8iUhnoAffvkzG7-bHGQUyew9SmCTtnPOgCLcB/s640/IMG_2569.JPG" width="426" /></a></div><br /><br />The view from the gate has changed. &nbsp;The honeysuckle is now in flower and has the most wonderful aroma as you walk past it. &nbsp;It is as unruly as it looks, it gets a severe haircut every year but still. &nbsp;The Rowan/Mountain Ash tree behind it is now in berry, a beautiful orange shade which will ripen to a deep red by the autumn.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hgdXyL1DoIE/V6cM22n9hXI/AAAAAAAADjI/muPawDadNqgvX_EITZFlERhClQyjBzgvwCLcB/s1600/IMG_2573.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hgdXyL1DoIE/V6cM22n9hXI/AAAAAAAADjI/muPawDadNqgvX_EITZFlERhClQyjBzgvwCLcB/s640/IMG_2573.JPG" width="426" /></a></div><br />My herb bed is producing in abundance, everyday I am out here picking for meals often twice a day. &nbsp;I have plans, in the next week, to start picking to dry herbs as well as to soak in oils for eating and medicinal purposes. &nbsp;You can see the tallest of the sunflower plants just off centre in the photo. &nbsp;It is in bed which is slightly higher than the herbs so it is not as tall as you might expect. &nbsp;The flower head is appearing but is not quite there yet, &nbsp;I suspect I shall miss its display as I am away for two weeks at the end of the month!<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vl438Zv9bdU/V6cOARLj8aI/AAAAAAAADjY/I25Lokil5kM1xYoxopwhOg9f-dVX9P3OgCEw/s1600/IMG_2577.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vl438Zv9bdU/V6cOARLj8aI/AAAAAAAADjY/I25Lokil5kM1xYoxopwhOg9f-dVX9P3OgCEw/s640/IMG_2577.JPG" width="426" /></a></div><br />The turnips,<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PP0QD0nbEJU/V6cOBJJLS6I/AAAAAAAADjc/RHwwuE6ortMd6jItaKM238gZOgSgWDZPQCEw/s1600/IMG_2578.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PP0QD0nbEJU/V6cOBJJLS6I/AAAAAAAADjc/RHwwuE6ortMd6jItaKM238gZOgSgWDZPQCEw/s640/IMG_2578.JPG" width="426" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>&nbsp;carrots,<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ezFCEfT65ro/V6cN_zhyWJI/AAAAAAAADjU/dw7UjNOM6TM6JEItxrgRHOsEY70fNGEZQCEw/s1600/IMG_2579.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ezFCEfT65ro/V6cN_zhyWJI/AAAAAAAADjU/dw7UjNOM6TM6JEItxrgRHOsEY70fNGEZQCEw/s640/IMG_2579.JPG" width="426" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>and garlic are growing well and are about ready to be harvested.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MRYA83MIN7A/V6cTaYJHOOI/AAAAAAAADjs/0Gldi5H77koJeq2kQ_N4YrJGQGmuMcaYwCLcB/s1600/IMG_2581.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MRYA83MIN7A/V6cTaYJHOOI/AAAAAAAADjs/0Gldi5H77koJeq2kQ_N4YrJGQGmuMcaYwCLcB/s640/IMG_2581.JPG" width="426" /></a></div><br />I planted out my broad bean seedlings and they have more than doubled in size this month. &nbsp;They are covered in flowers so I hope we will have some beans to harvest soon.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2PQv9ucb-X4/V6cT-fkKU0I/AAAAAAAADjw/qHGJ61Q6z3koBR93s-RlM70hBVYbJZn7QCLcB/s1600/IMG_2582.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2PQv9ucb-X4/V6cT-fkKU0I/AAAAAAAADjw/qHGJ61Q6z3koBR93s-RlM70hBVYbJZn7QCLcB/s640/IMG_2582.JPG" width="426" /></a></div><br />The french beans have also grown considerably in size. &nbsp;They have yet to produce any flowers, I do hope that they are not growing tall to the detriment of bearing fruit........<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jhR3xTz2GXA/V6cUnb3IsUI/AAAAAAAADj8/0LqRJcf7TskaU8pcT3ioQsme8AP9X8STQCLcB/s1600/IMG_2585.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jhR3xTz2GXA/V6cUnb3IsUI/AAAAAAAADj8/0LqRJcf7TskaU8pcT3ioQsme8AP9X8STQCLcB/s640/IMG_2585.JPG" width="426" /></a></div><br />In the polytunnel the cucumbers are growing really well, all six plants are producing several fruits.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cH0uk8mpYVk/V6cUqpYzGEI/AAAAAAAADkA/8X139avgBg0cqkeBgOPZCNoWySfFuRZQgCLcB/s1600/IMG_2586.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cH0uk8mpYVk/V6cUqpYzGEI/AAAAAAAADkA/8X139avgBg0cqkeBgOPZCNoWySfFuRZQgCLcB/s640/IMG_2586.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />The courgettes on the other hand are big plants with plenty of flowers but the few fruits that do appear are not growing very well, I am going to give them a feed this week to see if that helps.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-haXCkUXnBK0/V6cYHrpnqWI/AAAAAAAADkQ/_vDF854k2Ig_vQJ3ZoOA8CqFGmNi1TtXACLcB/s1600/IMG_2583.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-haXCkUXnBK0/V6cYHrpnqWI/AAAAAAAADkQ/_vDF854k2Ig_vQJ3ZoOA8CqFGmNi1TtXACLcB/s640/IMG_2583.JPG" width="426" /></a></div><br />The beetroot seedlings are growing really well. &nbsp;I haven't been able to get beetroot to germinate over the last couple of years. &nbsp;It is one of my favourite vegetables so I am really pleased to have these plants this year, even if they will only supply us with one or two meals.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-c1c_LerSilw/V6cYH3Y8TUI/AAAAAAAADkU/veb8djKGilIFqVek7drOnSB2CxaxrfE0QCLcB/s1600/IMG_2584.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-c1c_LerSilw/V6cYH3Y8TUI/AAAAAAAADkU/veb8djKGilIFqVek7drOnSB2CxaxrfE0QCLcB/s640/IMG_2584.JPG" width="426" /></a></div><br />The kale seeds that I sowed at the beginning of July have germinated and started to grow. &nbsp;Just need to keep those pesky slugs and snails at bay!<br /><br />I have harvested three pounds of gooseberries and eight of blackcurrant this month. &nbsp;We have continued to enjoy a continuous supply of salad leaves and have eaten most of the pok choi plants that I shared last month, they were delicious! &nbsp;I have already sown more in the hope that they will have enough time before the light starts to go to grow into big enough plants to harvest. &nbsp;This is the first year I have grown this plant after getting some in a veg box a couple of years ago. &nbsp;Now I know how quickly they grow and are ready to harvest I will sow less at a time and more often to ensure a more steady supply.<br /><br />What was growing in your garden in July?<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/sustainablemum/~4/Cz7RE9ywTnw" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/sustainablemum/~3/Cz7RE9ywTnw/how-does-your-garden-grow.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (sustainablemum)26http://sustainable-mum.blogspot.com/2016/08/how-does-your-garden-grow.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1151798681951781536.post-7996185033981309091Mon, 01 Aug 2016 08:41:00 +00002016-08-01T09:41:24.706+01:00family lifehome educationJuly in PhotosI cannot believe July is over, that was a super fast 31 days full to the brim of adventures and time outside. &nbsp;I usually join&nbsp;<a href="http://livelovecraftme.blogspot.co.uk/" target="_blank">Hawthorn Spellweaver</a>&nbsp;for these posts, but not this month. &nbsp;She kindly took the trouble to email me the prompts for July, as I was away the first two weeks of the month, but I am rubbish at checking the email address for this blog so I didn't pick up the email until the end of last week. &nbsp;Sadly I hadn't taken any pictures that matched the prompts for July so I will give you a selection of my own choosing.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-C4f0Aoa76eU/V58IAkXQUfI/AAAAAAAADhE/J6sni8CKyY0yrPtRHAJrfgrAr0nQlnTRACEw/s1600/IMG_2093.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-C4f0Aoa76eU/V58IAkXQUfI/AAAAAAAADhE/J6sni8CKyY0yrPtRHAJrfgrAr0nQlnTRACEw/s640/IMG_2093.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div>We started the month by travelling south for a family holiday. &nbsp;We had dry warm weather, which makes camping so much easier, we picked the <a href="http://www.thenewforest.co.uk/default-v3.aspx?AskRedirect=true" target="_blank">location</a> for a few reasons but one is that the south of England generally has warmer weather over the summer than where I live. &nbsp;In the weeks leading up to our holiday it was much drier and warmer where we live, I was worried we were in for a cold, wet week!<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-s8chQDblmR4/V58IAepm_dI/AAAAAAAADhE/DHU-6e4NzMsv9bcyGxaf6WDDevvYcBmwwCEw/s1600/IMG_2099.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-s8chQDblmR4/V58IAepm_dI/AAAAAAAADhE/DHU-6e4NzMsv9bcyGxaf6WDDevvYcBmwwCEw/s640/IMG_2099.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-IilwxXlEsOw/V58IQa6xefI/AAAAAAAADhc/8cWNoUcmBysDb9tUN9-hlu5gcPDJfEAlQCEw/s1600/IMG_2150.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-IilwxXlEsOw/V58IQa6xefI/AAAAAAAADhc/8cWNoUcmBysDb9tUN9-hlu5gcPDJfEAlQCEw/s640/IMG_2150.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5SLLP8PL9cw/V58IXkD6emI/AAAAAAAADhc/itbp2n8u4QAx0rz3NGeUAJp_IC3YYC5TQCEw/s1600/IMG_2151.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5SLLP8PL9cw/V58IXkD6emI/AAAAAAAADhc/itbp2n8u4QAx0rz3NGeUAJp_IC3YYC5TQCEw/s640/IMG_2151.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rToFRcVcbbM/V58ImVBxGEI/AAAAAAAADiA/n-Ox0-vJpnoyzBFk1cXO6QV40C6cjCNlACEw/s1600/IMG_2254.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rToFRcVcbbM/V58ImVBxGEI/AAAAAAAADiA/n-Ox0-vJpnoyzBFk1cXO6QV40C6cjCNlACEw/s640/IMG_2254.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />We enjoyed hours of cycling on fantastic off road tracks through beautiful countryside.</div><div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-W6TB6Dr-ojs/V58H69y5czI/AAAAAAAADhE/bQa_C-KFFRwH0mh0h_9-wqDdcSQQ9xnFACEw/s1600/IMG_2094.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-W6TB6Dr-ojs/V58H69y5czI/AAAAAAAADhE/bQa_C-KFFRwH0mh0h_9-wqDdcSQQ9xnFACEw/s640/IMG_2094.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ApVNapTcq2g/V58InE31NWI/AAAAAAAADiA/Qoc12XgpNos0Nwi-rGUwbEGTDLNGpWD9QCEw/s1600/IMG_2278.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ApVNapTcq2g/V58InE31NWI/AAAAAAAADiA/Qoc12XgpNos0Nwi-rGUwbEGTDLNGpWD9QCEw/s640/IMG_2278.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />The area is famous for its wild ponies and cattle. &nbsp;Some of the properties have commoners rights attached to them which allows the owners to graze their livestock on local land*. &nbsp;They often came wandering though our campsite.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-dWYPqhPrbjg/V58ISPpBeTI/AAAAAAAADhc/dxeBlXfDSG0ZiDp0MuBsJA-wuCzJU1zIACEw/s1600/IMG_2152.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-dWYPqhPrbjg/V58ISPpBeTI/AAAAAAAADhc/dxeBlXfDSG0ZiDp0MuBsJA-wuCzJU1zIACEw/s640/IMG_2152.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />When it comes to food on holiday I have, in the past, done a lot of cooking prior to going away, reheating it when we were to eat it. &nbsp;It always meant a huge amount of work in the week leading up to going away which often meant that I was exhausted by the time we actually went away. &nbsp;I tried a different approach this time taking a box of basic ingredients and buying fresh ones locally. &nbsp;There was a fantastic farm shop a two minute drive from the campsite which supplied most of our needs.<br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bSpp9JQJE00/V58JDFTXbEI/AAAAAAAADio/QvTqTa7mjNw2AXgHEOE73DdetO5-VuyGACEw/s1600/IMG_2308.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bSpp9JQJE00/V58JDFTXbEI/AAAAAAAADio/QvTqTa7mjNw2AXgHEOE73DdetO5-VuyGACEw/s640/IMG_2308.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MbN-XnSkrdU/V58JE0ezUPI/AAAAAAAADio/BnrthFVfloY2mKrEnI_HMC_7uLjwfdpAwCEw/s1600/IMG_2327.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MbN-XnSkrdU/V58JE0ezUPI/AAAAAAAADio/BnrthFVfloY2mKrEnI_HMC_7uLjwfdpAwCEw/s640/IMG_2327.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-S6UJjafgwhE/V58KrsEhpzI/AAAAAAAADis/fKHLt0d47yoXBqQaS2w8TZ4PE0IudfJ8ACLcB/s1600/IMG_2329.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-S6UJjafgwhE/V58KrsEhpzI/AAAAAAAADis/fKHLt0d47yoXBqQaS2w8TZ4PE0IudfJ8ACLcB/s640/IMG_2329.jpg" width="576" /></a></div><br />We don't usually take a planned 'holiday' from home education mostly because we don't differentiate between family life and learning. &nbsp;July ended up being a month when we only had one week of our usual rhythm, and on one day of that week we had great fun at a friends house making huge bubbles. &nbsp;It was a really easy activity to set up and provided plenty of entertainment. &nbsp;The bubbles were amazing to watch as they wobbled through the air, seemingly fragile, but covering considerable distances on occasions.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-GP8I-22xr-w/V58JQmKFORI/AAAAAAAADio/2m1kN28VWCEUjfKT2W4WKHKUxKNOlYeUQCEw/s1600/IMG_2386.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-GP8I-22xr-w/V58JQmKFORI/AAAAAAAADio/2m1kN28VWCEUjfKT2W4WKHKUxKNOlYeUQCEw/s640/IMG_2386.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yW89rGdxDdM/V58JWfdNztI/AAAAAAAADio/8Ijfsrp4KDYZvplYAqmjw_CXP5XY643fACEw/s1600/IMG_2539.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yW89rGdxDdM/V58JWfdNztI/AAAAAAAADio/8Ijfsrp4KDYZvplYAqmjw_CXP5XY643fACEw/s640/IMG_2539.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0f1DDAnj6Ec/V58JZWwV3DI/AAAAAAAADio/M_71LUxP-pshPbaBWZgcutlsscWiUYYzwCEw/s1600/IMG_2546.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0f1DDAnj6Ec/V58JZWwV3DI/AAAAAAAADio/M_71LUxP-pshPbaBWZgcutlsscWiUYYzwCEw/s640/IMG_2546.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-NMhqc2d-3yA/V58JbjkgvXI/AAAAAAAADio/SlGOMUo45L8Udl6XtY4enFCo3xE0jcXCwCEw/s1600/IMG_2548.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-NMhqc2d-3yA/V58JbjkgvXI/AAAAAAAADio/SlGOMUo45L8Udl6XtY4enFCo3xE0jcXCwCEw/s640/IMG_2548.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ExEyzXBp3Og/V58JbfgIqZI/AAAAAAAADio/-H51YhaTEGIUfbGoJxGCPuWRq8LQEpXnQCEw/s1600/IMG_2563.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ExEyzXBp3Og/V58JbfgIqZI/AAAAAAAADio/-H51YhaTEGIUfbGoJxGCPuWRq8LQEpXnQCEw/s640/IMG_2563.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />Last weekend we travelled to visit friends and their local <a href="https://www.sunderland.gov.uk/index.aspx?articleid=6454" target="_blank">air show</a>, I had never been to one before and had no idea what to expect. &nbsp;It was incredibly busy, especially to us small village dwellers, but we managed to find a quietish spot looking out to sea with the crowds behind us. &nbsp;There were so many different displays going on, WWII planes, parachute displays, a beach assault, gyrocopter and helicopter displays. &nbsp;The highlight for me was definitely the Red Arrows we saw them twice and they were fantastic on both occasions.<br /><br />My diary for August is looking very empty, I have plans for a few of the days but nothing else at the moment. &nbsp;I know that we will slowly fill it, but I am looking forward to a very slow, gentle month.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">***************</div><br />* all land in England is owned, the right to graze your livestock on land owned by others is a very old one in some cases it has been around since the time of William the Conqueror (nearly 1,000 years)</div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/sustainablemum/~4/d_a9SejvDHc" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/sustainablemum/~3/d_a9SejvDHc/july-in-photos.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (sustainablemum)14http://sustainable-mum.blogspot.com/2016/08/july-in-photos.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1151798681951781536.post-4177347574128550718Tue, 26 Jul 2016 23:00:00 +00002016-07-27T00:00:04.382+01:00home educationCritiquing the UnknownAs I walked past a bench, in my local town, I caught a snippet of the conversation the ladies sat there were having. &nbsp;It might have just been a conincidence that they were discussing home education, but as Cameron had just walked past I couldn't help but think that that had something to do with it. &nbsp;Their words pricked me like a pin, widening the wedge that I feel is being driven into me by some.<br /><br />When you chose to do something that is 'different' it is inevitable that you will come up again a difference of opinion. &nbsp;When that opinion becomes a challenge or a criticism it is harder to deal with, especially when it is made by people who have no experience of home education, it is akin to reviewing a book without reading it.<br /><br />I am under no illusion that home educating is an easy choice. &nbsp;Every decision I have made and will continue to make has been considered carefully with each of my children's individual needs at their heart. &nbsp;A few days ago most school children in England finished school for the Summer, it is the end of the school year here and for Cameron's peers at school this is a big time in their life. &nbsp;After seven years of being at the same school they will move up into the school where they will remain for the rest of their school life. &nbsp;Cameron will not be joining them, he will continue to be educated at home. &nbsp; &nbsp;My decision has engendered criticism amongst a small proportion of my friends and family. &nbsp;Talking about it to a friend recently she suggested that some are critical through fear, that by my actions I am myself being critical of them and their choice of education for their children.<br /><br />I am not anti school. &nbsp;I never have been. &nbsp;My niece has just finished her A levels and her school life. &nbsp;She absolutely loved school and is really sorry it has come to an end. &nbsp;She is a really thoughtful, perceptive young woman about to go out into the world on her own, for whom school was absolutely the right setting for her to learn. &nbsp;She was the right shaped peg. &nbsp;Schools, by definition, cannot completely individualise each child's learning. &nbsp;Teachers only have so much time for planning, I know how long it takes to plan for my two children so to do so for a class of 30, even allowing for some similarities and repeating in subsequent years, it would be a huge task. So you end up with a plan that will suit some, hopefully most, children but not all of them and however hard you try, round pegs won't fit into square holes properly. &nbsp;I am absolutely sure my children would be the round pegs.<br /><br />There are plans to make the English National Curriculum more knowledge based a move which I will admit to being completely baffled by, knowing facts is not my idea of preparing our nation's children to be the employees of the tomorrow. &nbsp;I believe they need skills such as motivation, self confidence, problem solving, initiative and organisation all of which need to be learnt not taught and are much harder for them to learn quickly.<br /><br />So to the ladies on the bench I would like to know why you think that it should not be permitted to home educate a child at secondary school age (11 - 18). &nbsp;I would like to know why you think that the National Curriculum is the only framework for learning. &nbsp;I would also like to inform you that if my children wanted to learn about nuclear physics* it is perfectly possible to do that outwith a classroom.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">********************</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">*what I actually overheard was......education at primary level is all very well but at secondary it shouldn't be allowed, they wouldn't be able to do nuclear physics at the kitchen table now would they...........<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">********************</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I am sorry if you were reading any other posts here in the last week and found yourself unable to leave a comment. One of the links I had added to the last post I published seemed to corrupt my blog and disabled all links, it took me a while to work out what the problem was. A huge thank you to the lovely people who emailed me to let me know, it was much appreciated!</div></div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/sustainablemum/~4/AF5XNt94lgE" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/sustainablemum/~3/AF5XNt94lgE/critiquing-unknown.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (sustainablemum)12http://sustainable-mum.blogspot.com/2016/07/critiquing-unknown.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1151798681951781536.post-549531529946109660Mon, 18 Jul 2016 23:00:00 +00002016-07-20T18:05:38.455+01:00homemade party bagsknittingrainbow fairy wingssewingSpring MakesOver the Winter months I joined in with a lovely linky party where each month we shared what we had been making, I have missed this during the Spring, it focused me on writing about it. &nbsp;My time hasn't allowed for as many posts of late so my making has stayed hidden from the world. <br /><br />It has been a busy season of birthdays which means more making for me, there are far too many for me to make for them all, but I make what I can find the time for. &nbsp;It has taken me so long to get round to writing this post, its ironic that when I am busy I have so many blog post ideas floating about in my head and half written on paper and when I life is quieter I have more time to write posts and am scratching around looking for ideas.......<br /><br />Alice has a birthday in Spring and it goes without saying that I spent much of my time making presents for her! &nbsp;She also wanted me to make party bags for all her friends (and their siblings) whom she had invited to her party, so of course I said yes.........<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Nz7YHNjQvcw/V41IOT3kG7I/AAAAAAAADew/VWTKK-FHnCce8zZXhYS38vXnPAMFh5YNgCLcB/s1600/IMG_1371.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Nz7YHNjQvcw/V41IOT3kG7I/AAAAAAAADew/VWTKK-FHnCce8zZXhYS38vXnPAMFh5YNgCLcB/s640/IMG_1371.JPG" width="426" /></a></div><br />....nine bags made entirely with fabric from my stash, small leftovers pieces from larger projects. &nbsp;They seemed to take forever to make, but it was worth it when I saw the looks on the children's faces as they were given out.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cjlDUuqo6u4/V41NuG5p4xI/AAAAAAAADfA/10ZcZgkcy2MoHX4teQa7lz-o8GklTESvQCLcB/s1600/IMG_2361.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cjlDUuqo6u4/V41NuG5p4xI/AAAAAAAADfA/10ZcZgkcy2MoHX4teQa7lz-o8GklTESvQCLcB/s640/IMG_2361.JPG" width="426" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gprRYN76oO8/V41Nunjtp3I/AAAAAAAADfE/IJCI9xO6SUkAnjY6Sh7TzfLoC_4P2QreACLcB/s1600/IMG_2374.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gprRYN76oO8/V41Nunjtp3I/AAAAAAAADfE/IJCI9xO6SUkAnjY6Sh7TzfLoC_4P2QreACLcB/s640/IMG_2374.JPG" width="426" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qyMf_w7R6L4/V41Nu4vYOkI/AAAAAAAADfI/AuamMV1fqAIRhMYQgnS0ezobkr5XVHzBQCLcB/s1600/IMG_2378.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qyMf_w7R6L4/V41Nu4vYOkI/AAAAAAAADfI/AuamMV1fqAIRhMYQgnS0ezobkr5XVHzBQCLcB/s640/IMG_2378.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />The birthday girl herself got more clothes for the the best dressed dolly in England and a drawstring bag which I don't seem to have taken a picture of and I can't find the bag. &nbsp;The bag contained a book on learning to knit and the pieces to make her own knitting needles, we are going to start on that new journey next month.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-CGm9YFr7ZGo/V41OvkkDQAI/AAAAAAAADfU/9LwH97ouK4QiZqbrEy4J1t1TEU8HaxIoACLcB/s1600/IMG_1686.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-CGm9YFr7ZGo/V41OvkkDQAI/AAAAAAAADfU/9LwH97ouK4QiZqbrEy4J1t1TEU8HaxIoACLcB/s640/IMG_1686.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />I made another noughts and crosses game, using slightly different ribbon this time as I couldn't get hold of the <a href="http://sustainable-mum.blogspot.co.uk/2016/04/a-reusable-game.html" target="_blank">spotty one</a> I used last time. &nbsp;This was sent off along with several <a href="http://sustainable-mum.blogspot.co.uk/2016/03/bags-of-busyness.html" target="_blank">beanbags</a>, to a very old friend of mine's children whose birthdays are on consecutive days. &nbsp;It was a rather heavy parcel, due to the weight of those beans, something I had foolishly not considered before making them.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yLMHyTqWjf8/V41Zd5NtivI/AAAAAAAADfw/VtrxliYQSxk5EYaBnmKSZPb7R5SD5IV_QCLcB/s1600/IMG_1723.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yLMHyTqWjf8/V41Zd5NtivI/AAAAAAAADfw/VtrxliYQSxk5EYaBnmKSZPb7R5SD5IV_QCLcB/s640/IMG_1723.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />I took part in a swop for the Summer Solstice, we were all paired up with someone to send a parcel of goodies to. &nbsp;I sent my swop partner, a knitted washcloth and a bar of soap, a drawstring project bag, two homemade beeswax food covers and a book which was one of my favourites last year. &nbsp;It was well received!<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/--r42PFS_J3Y/V41aX6dV55I/AAAAAAAADf8/TUQfLv8D4lIq6XIwc-vuC38g-hg1YUrWgCLcB/s1600/IMG_2350.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/--r42PFS_J3Y/V41aX6dV55I/AAAAAAAADf8/TUQfLv8D4lIq6XIwc-vuC38g-hg1YUrWgCLcB/s640/IMG_2350.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />I made an appliqué sun for our seasonal table, we had it hanging in our tent for the summer camp.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-GAkKCSTXtNw/V41ayPhT5sI/AAAAAAAADgE/WoFX-k_v4DgvH6xWn72ZtLr-daqq5Hp7QCLcB/s1600/IMG_1920.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-GAkKCSTXtNw/V41ayPhT5sI/AAAAAAAADgE/WoFX-k_v4DgvH6xWn72ZtLr-daqq5Hp7QCLcB/s640/IMG_1920.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />Over the last two years I have made many&nbsp;<a href="http://sustainable-mum.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/capes.html" target="_blank">play capes</a>. &nbsp;Each time I make one I am left with a quarter of a circle of fabric (plus a few strips too depending on how accurately the shop has cut the fabric). &nbsp;I have kept every single one of those quadrants and had amassed quite a pile of them. &nbsp;I have had a few ideas for projects to make with them none of which have come to fruition until I came across a photo whilst surfing online and knew that I had found just the thing. &nbsp;Rainbow wings. &nbsp;I have no idea where I found that original photo or whether what I have made looks anything like the same. &nbsp;I made it up. &nbsp;I used bias binding across the top of the wings with elastic sewn in to attach the wings to the child. &nbsp;I need to redo this, it has pulled away in places as has the elastic but they still get used all the time despite the fact that they are currently held together with several safety pins!<br /><br />I have slowed down a little now the summer is here. &nbsp;I am hoping to make myself a dress and I have a few projects on the needles, some of which are nearly finished. &nbsp;I know come the Autumn I will be busy making and creating again!<br /><br /><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/sustainablemum/~4/MuefKNisuKE" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/sustainablemum/~3/MuefKNisuKE/spring-makes.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (sustainablemum)21http://sustainable-mum.blogspot.com/2016/07/spring-makes.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1151798681951781536.post-4707723193570554597Fri, 15 Jul 2016 11:41:00 +00002016-07-15T12:45:16.447+01:00daybookfamily lifeDaybook<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yUujM9DND5g/V4jK03UKuFI/AAAAAAAADeg/8_QTOyGXKgoP_3JbiUmhuLF2OsLnbWUpACLcB/s1600/IMG_2297.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yUujM9DND5g/V4jK03UKuFI/AAAAAAAADeg/8_QTOyGXKgoP_3JbiUmhuLF2OsLnbWUpACLcB/s640/IMG_2297.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><span style="color: #666666;"><br /></span><span style="color: #666666;"><br /></span><span style="color: #666666;"><b>Outside my window</b> </span>it is overcast but bright, it was forecast to rain all day but it has yet to arrive.....<br /><br /><span style="color: #666666;"><b>I am thinking</b> </span>about some dear friends who I don't get to see that often. &nbsp;Today is their wedding anniversary, we travelled to Utah, to be with them on their wedding day eleven years ago. &nbsp;They have had a really hard month, coping with the news that one of them has been diagnosed with cancer.<br /><br />We have just returned from a wonderful family holiday, <span style="color: #666666;"><b>I am thankful</b> </span>for this time we were able to all spend together enjoying each others company.<br /><br /><span style="color: #666666;"><b>In my kitchen</b> </span>is&nbsp;two sourdough starters bubbling away, a container awaiting granola to be made, pumpkin seeds soaking before baking to make a tasty snack, a box of seeds, a pile of washing up on the side.<br /><br />A friend of mine is having a baby at the end of the month, <span style="color: #666666;"><b>I am creating</b> </span>a small knitted item as a present. &nbsp;It is a long time since I have knitted a baby knit and forgot how quickly they knit up, unlike the cardigan for myself which I also have on the needles.<br /><br /><span style="background-color: white;">We are staying at home today, a much needed day at home. &nbsp;<span style="color: #666666;"><b>I am going</b> </span>out later to do a D of E&nbsp;</span>pre-expedition check.<br /><br />My garden has survived my being away and grown loads, <span style="color: #666666;"><b>I am wondering</b> </span>whether I should sow some more seeds soon so that I have a good steady supply of some of my vegetables.<br /><br /><span style="color: #666666;"><b>I am reading</b> </span>Solar by Ian McEwan one of my favourite authors. &nbsp;I have yet to decide whether I like this book, the main character is abhorrent. &nbsp;I have had many reading 'failures' recently so am feeling a little unsteady about my ability to find a good book to read.<br /><br />A home educating friend, who returned to her homeland in the US a couple of years ago, is coming over for a visit. &nbsp;<span style="color: #666666;"><b>I am looking forward</b> </span>to hanging out with her on Sunday and Wednesday next week.<br /><br /><span style="color: #666666;"><b>Around the house</b></span>&nbsp;the children are creating a huge lego village upstairs, books are on tables, chairs and floors, the holiday washing is hanging to dry and sitting in piles waiting to be ironed or put away, the top step of the stairs holds a pile of bits waiting to go into the loft, for once the house is reasonably tidy, I always tidy before going away, and it has yet to be lived in enough for it to any messier.<br /><br />I have been reading a recently published <a href="https://rossmountney.wordpress.com/2016/07/01/a-little-taster-of-the-new-book/" target="_blank">book</a> on Home Education, it is providing me with the support I need right now, particularly <span style="color: #666666;"><b>a&nbsp;favourite quote</b></span>&nbsp;which I have written out for myself for those times when the words of others are hurting 'You are not doing it wrong; you are just doing it differently from them. &nbsp;But some of them cannot see beyond the confines of mass thinking'.<br /><br />I thought I had managed to keep July to be a fairly quiet month but somehow it has become rather full, I am working to keep just <span style="color: #666666;"><b>a few plans</b></span>&nbsp;for August, a week of camping and nothing else in the diary for now.<br /><br />We don't stop our rhythm and learning for the summer, it continues to rumble along in its gentle way, but I also use that time to think about and plan the coming year for Cameron (I do so for Alice at Easter). &nbsp;<span style="color: #666666;"><b>I am pondering</b> </span>and looking at different curriculums, picking the bits I want, to make our own.<br /><br />I have started to use my camera entirely on manual mode, <span style="color: #666666; font-weight: bold;">I am learning</span>, slowly, the different features and settings. &nbsp;I have tried reading about it but it goes in one eye and out the other, by doing it I am learning so much more.<br /><br /><span style="color: #666666;"><b>I am wearing</b> </span>the same blue linen trousers I had on when I lasted posted a&nbsp;<a href="http://sustainable-mum.blogspot.co.uk/2016/05/daybook.html" target="_blank">daybook</a>, along with a&nbsp;<a href="http://sustainable-mum.blogspot.co.uk/2016/04/ta-dah.html" target="_blank">jumper</a>&nbsp;and my wooly slippers, it is chilly here today.<br /><br />As I sit and write<span style="color: #666666;"> <b>I am listening</b> </span>to the children laughing upstairs, downstairs it is still and quiet.<br /><br />A peek in to my day.<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/sustainablemum/~4/qji5hP8e_Gw" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/sustainablemum/~3/qji5hP8e_Gw/daybook.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (sustainablemum)8http://sustainable-mum.blogspot.com/2016/07/daybook.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1151798681951781536.post-5016068744867164469Sat, 09 Jul 2016 23:00:00 +00002016-07-10T00:00:03.604+01:00gardeningHow does your garden grow?As I was walking round my garden looking for suitable subjects for the photo scavenger hunt, garden category I realised it has been a <a href="http://sustainable-mum.blogspot.co.uk/2014/06/tending.html" target="_blank">long time</a> since I had taken any photos out there and shared them on here. &nbsp;I did <a href="http://sustainable-mum.blogspot.co.uk/2015/04/hope.html" target="_blank">write about</a>&nbsp;my hopes for the garden early on last year but sadly those hopes were not realised, four courgettes about the same number of cucumbers, one meal of broad beans, no French beans you get the picture. &nbsp;A few things did really well despite the lack of sun (or warmth) I had my first red tomato in years, we have just finished eating last years garlic and the potato crop, exclusively gave us a couple of meals a week from August to March.<br /><br />This year it is looking to be a much better year, let's face it anything could be an improvement on last year! &nbsp;All my seedlings are doing well and we seem to be managing to keep the pests at bay. &nbsp;We have been fortunate to have had just the right mix of warm sun and rain the perfect combination for a gardener.<br /><br />So come with me and I will take you on a little tour (all text relates to the photo above it)......<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hCgsJqtXhj8/V3JTLcIeVpI/AAAAAAAADbk/8HUVwO85sfYMaOyGbZORPQenk2i-X1dUgCLcB/s1600/IMG_2048.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hCgsJqtXhj8/V3JTLcIeVpI/AAAAAAAADbk/8HUVwO85sfYMaOyGbZORPQenk2i-X1dUgCLcB/s640/IMG_2048.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />This is the view from the garden gate, a necessity to keep the rabbits out, otherwise all of this growth would be nibbled to nothing (you can just make out the fencing on the left side of the picture). &nbsp;There is a narrow strip of land down the side of the garage/workshop building. &nbsp;There is a path down the middle a bed to the left where the orange flowers (orange hawkweed) are growing along with out of control mint and a few heather plants, to the right is a small wood store. &nbsp;At the end of the building the garden widens to it full width approximately 6m, it is nearly 17m in length.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_RiR2AfTdiA/V3JVDaeoD6I/AAAAAAAADbw/wmw61gggGkkASISSku6gnHIFC2jAFJ89QCLcB/s1600/IMG_1960.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_RiR2AfTdiA/V3JVDaeoD6I/AAAAAAAADbw/wmw61gggGkkASISSku6gnHIFC2jAFJ89QCLcB/s640/IMG_1960.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />Immediately behind the building is a small paved patio which has a larger wood store on the right hand side (you can just see it on the right side of the picture) and my washing line, a whirligig, which you can see in the first photo. &nbsp;My entire garden is on a slight slope as you move away from the house, in order to be able to cultivate this we have created a series of beds each one slightly higher than the next in the first part of the garden. &nbsp;This mass of green is my unruly herb bed which has taken over some of the paved area. &nbsp;The chives, in particular have spread everywhere but the bees love the flowers so they stay until they are done with them at which point I cut them off in a vain effort to stop them spreading.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1AYSTVVGEqU/V3JWTQY_0RI/AAAAAAAADcE/gjpMeMpjv4IQEAkwY_4F9y7phAeRow8sACLcB/s1600/IMG_2014.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1AYSTVVGEqU/V3JWTQY_0RI/AAAAAAAADcE/gjpMeMpjv4IQEAkwY_4F9y7phAeRow8sACLcB/s640/IMG_2014.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />As we move up the garden, using the path that you can just make out to the left side of the first photo, the bed on the left of the path is one of my wild patches. &nbsp;Only two of the plants in this thin strip have been planted by me, a honeysuckle and a euphorbia, the rest which includes a Rowan tree, a hawthorn, lots of buttercups, columbine or aquilegia and an abundance of wild strawberries have either spread from next doors garden or have been provided by the birds! &nbsp;I do very little to this patch and the birds love it as much as I do. &nbsp;The children love to go and forage in this spot for the little red fruits of sublime sweetness.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-B4Pf8rY5cnY/V3JWRn5zfzI/AAAAAAAADcM/xWgDliFL1JMmucbjF-J5Dj1wfjGf-Es-wCKgB/s1600/IMG_2015.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-B4Pf8rY5cnY/V3JWRn5zfzI/AAAAAAAADcM/xWgDliFL1JMmucbjF-J5Dj1wfjGf-Es-wCKgB/s640/IMG_2015.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />On the other side of the path is a big fruit cage which houses a blackcurrant and a white currant both of which are laden with fruit.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XNdI4pNqeHs/V2-dTxF_9WI/AAAAAAAADa8/GSN-mawAYgQTPUw3PygVW06flYBb2kRiQCKgB/s1600/IMG_1963.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XNdI4pNqeHs/V2-dTxF_9WI/AAAAAAAADa8/GSN-mawAYgQTPUw3PygVW06flYBb2kRiQCKgB/s640/IMG_1963.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />The path curves round the back of the fruit cage past a trellis covered with this lovely climbing plant, <i>Actinidia kolomitkta</i>&nbsp;on the left, the leaves change colour in the sun.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BGHm0sfi7aE/V3JYJmkNYsI/AAAAAAAADcQ/abC4XFgJ0cYAp6kDGaak25aqurGcS7yMQCLcB/s1600/IMG_2047.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BGHm0sfi7aE/V3JYJmkNYsI/AAAAAAAADcQ/abC4XFgJ0cYAp6kDGaak25aqurGcS7yMQCLcB/s640/IMG_2047.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />Behind the trellis is a very overgrown wildlife pond. &nbsp;It is quite difficult to get in there to weed so it tends to only get any attention in the autumn/winter to cut it all back. &nbsp;The birds love this spot too, they use the pond to drink and have a bathe, there is a small willow tree which provides food for some. &nbsp;The trellis has a small bird box on the this side which houses a blue tit nest year after year.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zuyj9DaSptg/V3JZQgJmeaI/AAAAAAAADc0/_yOAv4uufy4uq_MDX_zigDWzMLRV96XZwCKgB/s1600/IMG_2022.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zuyj9DaSptg/V3JZQgJmeaI/AAAAAAAADc0/_yOAv4uufy4uq_MDX_zigDWzMLRV96XZwCKgB/s640/IMG_2022.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-orPMp-gXnPw/V3JZSZ3AHnI/AAAAAAAADck/BEZLTVvmiK8rqhw7UW0E_Ae4YdLcgQuLACLcB/s1600/IMG_2024.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-orPMp-gXnPw/V3JZSZ3AHnI/AAAAAAAADck/BEZLTVvmiK8rqhw7UW0E_Ae4YdLcgQuLACLcB/s640/IMG_2024.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VvVyziUFANE/V3JZS4sBR5I/AAAAAAAADco/9OApxSbIdPIpfkVTRFfYMygNdokOllzPwCLcB/s1600/IMG_2023.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VvVyziUFANE/V3JZS4sBR5I/AAAAAAAADco/9OApxSbIdPIpfkVTRFfYMygNdokOllzPwCLcB/s640/IMG_2023.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />The above three pictures are of the next bed up the garden. &nbsp;This bed is always used for vegetables and this year houses, courgettes, red onions, turnip, carrot, leek, garlic (the pond is behind them) &nbsp;and the odd stray potato plant from potatoes that we have failed to dig up! &nbsp;The path weaves round three sides of this bed in a reversed C as you move up the garden.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-gz8LxllSNS8/V2-c0NtNnYI/AAAAAAAADa4/bpzfPdkSIWAxdqcqtYdBilWfcW6vM5IaQCKgB/s1600/IMG_1964.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-gz8LxllSNS8/V2-c0NtNnYI/AAAAAAAADa4/bpzfPdkSIWAxdqcqtYdBilWfcW6vM5IaQCKgB/s640/IMG_1964.JPG" width="426" /></a></div><br />The path then weaves its way through this trellis covered in a very unruly honeysuckle to the top of the garden. &nbsp;The wooden box is a wormery which needs some attention as sadly it is falling apart, we were given it twelve years ago and it has provided us with some great compost. &nbsp;Over the winter we hope to take it apart and rebuild it using the parts of it that are still sound. &nbsp;On top of the wormery are some bean plants which have now been moved......<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JXUIOVTaK84/V3JbdA8NMtI/AAAAAAAADc4/Nb6adY6_bdot6S5Y36Z46etVLta3HcgIACLcB/s1600/IMG_2027.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JXUIOVTaK84/V3JbdA8NMtI/AAAAAAAADc4/Nb6adY6_bdot6S5Y36Z46etVLta3HcgIACLcB/s640/IMG_2027.JPG" width="426" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">...into this bed, round a frame I built with sticks I found in our supply. &nbsp;It is a little wonky but I hope it does the job. &nbsp;I will add more rounds of twine as the plants grow bigger. &nbsp;This is a narrow strip of bed that runs alongside our polytunnel without which we would struggle to grow as much as we do. &nbsp;Inside there are amongst other things....</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-d61GfVSejI8/V3JcdddVxnI/AAAAAAAADdE/98vgtGblJIo825mw0S4t-sRYP1S5PTEiQCLcB/s1600/IMG_2030.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-d61GfVSejI8/V3JcdddVxnI/AAAAAAAADdE/98vgtGblJIo825mw0S4t-sRYP1S5PTEiQCLcB/s640/IMG_2030.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">...courgettes...</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-piuGyndZwZw/V3JchGevdiI/AAAAAAAADdM/iWnkMPH-vcYbP-POSnUPpMZf8Dx0CajqQCLcB/s1600/IMG_2031.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-piuGyndZwZw/V3JchGevdiI/AAAAAAAADdM/iWnkMPH-vcYbP-POSnUPpMZf8Dx0CajqQCLcB/s640/IMG_2031.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />...cucumbers....<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-YkHcr1UFoQA/V3JcibyQmSI/AAAAAAAADdQ/LAO58-7-W508LoDbjfwhF6pZxO-1FwS7wCLcB/s1600/IMG_2032.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-YkHcr1UFoQA/V3JcibyQmSI/AAAAAAAADdQ/LAO58-7-W508LoDbjfwhF6pZxO-1FwS7wCLcB/s640/IMG_2032.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">...and a salad leaf bed.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">At the top of the garden we have a bed which is the full width of the garden. &nbsp;When we moved here it was a raised patio area which had a surface reminiscent of stormy sea. &nbsp;We removed the paviors and used them to make the path, threw some soil in and made a big bed. &nbsp;This year it is home to....</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vb7wG0Xqw74/V3JdknoldPI/AAAAAAAADdc/Iru8cOb0usMAJXNRCLo_6d9VKk-YewtDACLcB/s1600/IMG_1970.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vb7wG0Xqw74/V3JdknoldPI/AAAAAAAADdc/Iru8cOb0usMAJXNRCLo_6d9VKk-YewtDACLcB/s640/IMG_1970.JPG" width="426" /></a></div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">...red cabbages...</div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wKHR1r9o7NA/V3JeCmkqM9I/AAAAAAAADdo/d_muyACBpmQ9Pfo8Dq94x-u2NszpQQs7QCLcB/s1600/IMG_1967.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wKHR1r9o7NA/V3JeCmkqM9I/AAAAAAAADdo/d_muyACBpmQ9Pfo8Dq94x-u2NszpQQs7QCLcB/s640/IMG_1967.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>&nbsp;...white onions...<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_0jItUiXHf4/V3JeDOzENVI/AAAAAAAADd4/cmp_HcrAVGEvvBlWyevqjJL5bPRHdZehACKgB/s1600/IMG_1969.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_0jItUiXHf4/V3JeDOzENVI/AAAAAAAADd4/cmp_HcrAVGEvvBlWyevqjJL5bPRHdZehACKgB/s640/IMG_1969.JPG" width="426" /></a></div><br />...beetroot...<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oASEVDFxSQ4/V3JgaWjjdnI/AAAAAAAADd8/CroWfUtr28oMnwS3CaaPFyPIcfla0AwzwCLcB/s1600/IMG_2028.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oASEVDFxSQ4/V3JgaWjjdnI/AAAAAAAADd8/CroWfUtr28oMnwS3CaaPFyPIcfla0AwzwCLcB/s640/IMG_2028.JPG" width="426" /></a></div><br />...and pok choi as well as white cabbages and carrots.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-SUvxbAUoqzE/V3JhGvSXQBI/AAAAAAAADeI/zPPtZRsRWZMD5iNQ-lQMgLsv4i0zjHOmACLcB/s1600/IMG_2029.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-SUvxbAUoqzE/V3JhGvSXQBI/AAAAAAAADeI/zPPtZRsRWZMD5iNQ-lQMgLsv4i0zjHOmACLcB/s640/IMG_2029.JPG" width="426" /></a></div><br />As we return back to the house this is the trellis from the other side, looking through to the garlic.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-I-ZuJrk9aco/V3JhKUQF4fI/AAAAAAAADeQ/Udx4x4cZHlMf-ppnRBhaGRFXoJ3auGjlACLcB/s1600/IMG_2038.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-I-ZuJrk9aco/V3JhKUQF4fI/AAAAAAAADeQ/Udx4x4cZHlMf-ppnRBhaGRFXoJ3auGjlACLcB/s640/IMG_2038.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />I leave you with a view of the green roof that covers the garage and workshop roof.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">That is my garden in June, I hope to be back again in July with larger plants to share with you and maybe even some more produce. &nbsp;What is growing in your garden?</div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/sustainablemum/~4/mS1UeT_I3g4" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/sustainablemum/~3/mS1UeT_I3g4/how-does-your-garden-grow.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (sustainablemum)20http://sustainable-mum.blogspot.com/2016/07/how-does-your-garden-grow.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1151798681951781536.post-4702704255355875673Mon, 04 Jul 2016 23:00:00 +00002016-07-05T00:00:27.000+01:00#30 Days Wildnature study30 Days Wild<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_krUqRpinsk/V3DRv92t_LI/AAAAAAAADbU/QMxg7reJxNkXB942FuxYrH0H7rhbKO8pACLcB/s1600/IMG_1698.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_krUqRpinsk/V3DRv92t_LI/AAAAAAAADbU/QMxg7reJxNkXB942FuxYrH0H7rhbKO8pACLcB/s640/IMG_1698.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-FT8h4c2_l0A/V1ao1-_X7wI/AAAAAAAADXU/KrZGzu3GqcAzVQ5zKUPmpB2n1rLtc5c8QCKgB/s1600/IMG_1629.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-FT8h4c2_l0A/V1ao1-_X7wI/AAAAAAAADXU/KrZGzu3GqcAzVQ5zKUPmpB2n1rLtc5c8QCKgB/s640/IMG_1629.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ukUEc6I4lp0/V3DRqBLSfhI/AAAAAAAADbE/3yJa3U_qwYAygJ7QRv0Snijr518m7HKjwCKgB/s1600/IMG_1814.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ukUEc6I4lp0/V3DRqBLSfhI/AAAAAAAADbE/3yJa3U_qwYAygJ7QRv0Snijr518m7HKjwCKgB/s640/IMG_1814.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zjOG4X31Dp4/V16QJJdGXBI/AAAAAAAADYo/O54HXr4shsEepso22Qe5_gFSspBv5O-xwCKgB/s1600/IMG_1568.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zjOG4X31Dp4/V16QJJdGXBI/AAAAAAAADYo/O54HXr4shsEepso22Qe5_gFSspBv5O-xwCKgB/s640/IMG_1568.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ksmC7LMtjQ4/V3DRuBCbvaI/AAAAAAAADbM/D1woorTBo9ssWo_lRkE6OxGIPgL9qb94gCKgB/s1600/IMG_1693.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ksmC7LMtjQ4/V3DRuBCbvaI/AAAAAAAADbM/D1woorTBo9ssWo_lRkE6OxGIPgL9qb94gCKgB/s640/IMG_1693.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />During June a UK based <a href="http://www.mywildlife.org.uk/" target="_blank">wildlife trust</a> challenged us to <a href="http://www.mywildlife.org.uk/30dayswild/about-30-days-wild/" target="_blank">30 Days Wild</a>. &nbsp;In a world where nature is abundant everywhere but we are becoming increasingly&nbsp;disconnected from, this challenge is one small way to help re-establish those vital connections. &nbsp;It wasn't meant to be about walking up a mountain every day or going to places where you won't see another soul, it was about looking at the cracks in the pavements, observing your local tree, noticing the flowers wherever they grow or watching the sky. &nbsp;Whatever it looked like it was about stopping, looking and noticing.<br /><br />We spend a large proportion of our time outside, even more so at this time of year. &nbsp;I went for a see what happens approach, with the exception of Wednesdays which are our nature study day, the rest of the month was something we observed by being outside.<br /><ol><li>Carried out two hedge transects, studying the plants in a 30m section of hedge, on a local hedge as part of our study of the hawthorn tree.</li><li>Paddled in a stream with a home ed group</li><li>Observed Spotted Flycatchers in the bushes at the end of the garden, I only saw this bird for the first time last year and was amazed to see it living so close to us!</li><li>Watched the blue tit parents flying in and out of the nest box in our garden.</li><li>Took our canoe out on a local lake, observed many birds including several geese families, had a swim in the lake.</li><li>Watched a mouse exploring and a sparrow feeding its young, both in the garden</li><li>Observed sparrows mating and a spider spinning its web.</li><li>Watched lightning&nbsp;</li><li>Made a river using silver foil</li><li>Took a closer look at a peony flower&nbsp;</li><li>Observed the rabbits in a neighbours garden which led us to realise that they have created a new den in and amongst some tree stumps&nbsp;</li><li>Observed an osprey carrying a fish, it flew in front of the car</li><li>Identified wild flowers, picked nettles, lit a fire and made tea with a home ed group</li><li>Identified bees on the comfrey and chive plants in the garden and listened to them drinking the nectar</li><li>Identified wild flowers and plants for foraging on our village walk</li><li>Picked cleavers and nettles to make a pot of tea</li><li>Pressed poppy petals that had fallen from a flower in the garden</li><li>Watched the clouds to work out what the weather was going to do</li><li>Listened to the birds in the trees all around us as we waited for our friends to arrive of our annual summer camp</li><li>Camping always brings you closer to nature, you are much more aware of the weather, the time of day from what the wildlife, particularly the birds, are doing</li><li>Heard green woodpeckers 'laughing' in the woods and another sound that we couldn't identify but had fun trying to track (still camping)</li><li>Identified a meadow brown butterfly fluttering in the long grass behind our tent</li><li>Watched wren fledgings in the garden, we had no idea we had a nest (we found it after some hunting!)</li><li>Listened to a song thrush singing from the top of a tree in our neighbours garden it has done the same every day since.</li><li>Observed a frog hopping about in the garden, enjoying the rain</li><li>Watched rooks flying overhead and making a lot of noise, we couldn't work out why perhaps they were just conversing?</li><li>Had a close look at buttercup flowers, the seed heads were totally unexpected</li><li>Blew a dandelion clock, had a close look at one of the seeds, watched the seeds fly away and followed some of them, they flew a good distance.</li><li>Watched a spider trapping and wrapping a moth in its web</li><li><br /></li></ol><div>I really enjoyed this challenge. &nbsp;It did make me stop, look and be more aware of my surroundings. &nbsp;I loved that most of what we saw was not hunted out it was there for us to see with the right mindset. &nbsp;Some days we saw more than I have noted here, but for me these were the highlights. I would love to try doing this again in a different season, I am going to give it a go in September another month with 30 days, so another 30 days wild who knows what we will see then?</div><br /><br /><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/sustainablemum/~4/fdtN1DPQvAg" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/sustainablemum/~3/fdtN1DPQvAg/30-days-wild.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (sustainablemum)12http://sustainable-mum.blogspot.com/2016/07/30-days-wild.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1151798681951781536.post-1686133708892117366Wed, 29 Jun 2016 23:00:00 +00002016-06-30T00:00:16.356+01:00photo scavenger huntJune in Photos<div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;">So June, you have passed in a blur. &nbsp;A blur of wonderful weather and lots of time outside. &nbsp;It is the month of our favourite home ed camp, to celebrate the summer solstice, a highlight of our year. &nbsp;I have once again joined in the&nbsp;Photo Scavenger Hunt&nbsp;hosted by&nbsp;<a href="http://livelovecraftme.blogspot.co.uk/" target="_blank">Hawthorn Spellweaver</a>&nbsp;so here are my photos inspired by words and words inspired by photos for June.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Stone</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-nGOlY1FqTE0/V2-b-4i600I/AAAAAAAADZk/Dg1avJTuS7gFAptuI2oSctxONYQKFESJgCKgB/s1600/IMG_1901.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-nGOlY1FqTE0/V2-b-4i600I/AAAAAAAADZk/Dg1avJTuS7gFAptuI2oSctxONYQKFESJgCKgB/s640/IMG_1901.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;">I already mentioned that we attend a get together to celebrate the summer solstice, it is a wonderful time surrounded by friends in the beautiful countryside. &nbsp;We are always blessed with the weather. &nbsp;On the afternoon of the longest day we always have a small ceremony at a small stone circle sited in the woods close to where we camp. &nbsp;In the middle we create a small altar which is the centre point of our circle.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>View</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-HfNTF0Pp_5c/V2-dDivVxyI/AAAAAAAADaE/Yao3I7Wf2qwjvXbzcK9zn11WlRp_wmu8gCKgB/s1600/IMG_1835.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-HfNTF0Pp_5c/V2-dDivVxyI/AAAAAAAADaE/Yao3I7Wf2qwjvXbzcK9zn11WlRp_wmu8gCKgB/s640/IMG_1835.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;">A little further on from the stone&nbsp;circle, a short walk through the woods takes you to a stunning view of the sea. &nbsp;I could never tire of this view which changes throughout the day as the tide changes. &nbsp;As you come out the dappled sunlight of the wood the world suddenly brightens and the colours change completely. &nbsp;This photo was taken in the late evening light. &nbsp;It is a truly special place.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Sky</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BZB1UZrUHuk/V2-coUT2S_I/AAAAAAAADaQ/va6CxSpicFEcWq1lGM_UffTxYECVxIwKQCKgB/s1600/IMG_9497.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BZB1UZrUHuk/V2-coUT2S_I/AAAAAAAADaQ/va6CxSpicFEcWq1lGM_UffTxYECVxIwKQCKgB/s640/IMG_9497.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;">It is rare, in these parts, for the sky to be completely void of clouds. &nbsp;The hilly nature of the terrain around here ensure that they are nearly always a feature. &nbsp;It is possible to forecast the weather from the cloud types, a skill that Cameron has learnt through a recently project on the weather. &nbsp;Clouds may, sometimes, bring rain but they also give you the most amazing sunsets.</div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Trees</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><br /></b><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-b8mQymeswoE/V2-dNQtNWTI/AAAAAAAADa8/9V7KoHBFgrcfssdt3oDTATFWIYshjY9UwCKgB/s1600/IMG_1829.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-b8mQymeswoE/V2-dNQtNWTI/AAAAAAAADa8/9V7KoHBFgrcfssdt3oDTATFWIYshjY9UwCKgB/s640/IMG_1829.JPG" width="640" /></a><br /><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;">I could spend all day in and amongst the trees. &nbsp;I have so many pictures that it was hard to choose which one. &nbsp;In the end I chose one of the area of wood just above where my tent was pitched for our summer solstice camp. &nbsp;It is the place I go to mediate in the early morning, a place to watch the beauty of the sea, to listen to the birds singing, to gain some peace and quiet in the hustle and bustle of camp.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Water</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LjRyWFKx-aU/V2-csg_ywxI/AAAAAAAADak/RuZndMg4o_AyPC2s1L7Xs-TciX89w1etACKgB/s1600/IMG_1826.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LjRyWFKx-aU/V2-csg_ywxI/AAAAAAAADak/RuZndMg4o_AyPC2s1L7Xs-TciX89w1etACKgB/s640/IMG_1826.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I have alluded to the sea a few times all ready, so it just had to have a picture for this category. &nbsp;This is the view from my place of meditation.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Dwelling&nbsp;</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><br /></b><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TiJlPV89lEY/V2-dKM-K0wI/AAAAAAAADa8/RsxLQqaZZ94BhMBkmdcNOwvq7Y2e_XzfQCKgB/s1600/IMG_2002.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TiJlPV89lEY/V2-dKM-K0wI/AAAAAAAADa8/RsxLQqaZZ94BhMBkmdcNOwvq7Y2e_XzfQCKgB/s640/IMG_2002.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;">A place of marvel, a wonder of nature. &nbsp; This was once the home to a wasp. &nbsp;It lays its egg in the the fresh buds of our native oak trees. &nbsp;The grub releases chemicals which causes the leaf bud to distort in shape resulting in a round green gall with a central chamber housing the grub. &nbsp;Not only does it release chemicals to get the tree to build it a house it also does so to get the tree to divert nutrients for it to feed on. &nbsp;By August the chamber has become more brown in colour and come the autumn it will most likely be empty, if it hasn't been opened and eaten by a predator, with a small hole from which the adult wasp has emerged. &nbsp;The adults are <u>&lt;</u>&nbsp;2mm in length. &nbsp;Next time you pass an Oak Tree look out for them, the Oak Marble Gall.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Garden</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><br /></b><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-gz8LxllSNS8/V2-c0NtNnYI/AAAAAAAADa4/bpzfPdkSIWAxdqcqtYdBilWfcW6vM5IaQCKgB/s1600/IMG_1964.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-gz8LxllSNS8/V2-c0NtNnYI/AAAAAAAADa4/bpzfPdkSIWAxdqcqtYdBilWfcW6vM5IaQCKgB/s640/IMG_1964.JPG" width="426" /></a></div><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;">My garden is lush and fertile this year thanks to the wonderful weather we have been blessed with. &nbsp;After the cold, cold summer of last year my garden looks like a completely different place. &nbsp;Everything I have sown has germinated and grown into strong seedlings and in some cases good small plants. &nbsp;These are my bean seedlings waiting to be planted out, they are sat patiently waiting on our wormery. &nbsp;I just need to make some space for them! &nbsp;I hope I continue to be blessed with good weather and haven't just tempted fate by raving about how good it has been.......</div></div><b><br /></b><b>Gate</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><br /></b><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-H6cHVKC1a34/V2-dC_EJMJI/AAAAAAAADa8/jbjN_PbyI2kH890t_MBYK_93BkfPdCsGACKgB/s1600/IMG_8657.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-H6cHVKC1a34/V2-dC_EJMJI/AAAAAAAADa8/jbjN_PbyI2kH890t_MBYK_93BkfPdCsGACKgB/s640/IMG_8657.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;">Back in <a href="http://sustainable-mum.blogspot.co.uk/2016/04/april-in-photos.html" target="_blank">April</a>&nbsp;I featured a photo from my favourite local woods, a place steeped in memories for me and, I should think, a good many other people. &nbsp;There are so many features about this wood that I love in particular this gate. &nbsp;It is in full working order and engineered to open both ways, it serves no purpose at all as the fence boundary is long gone most likely removed as part of metal collections during WWII. &nbsp;I remember the first time I came across it and wondered who might have used it, how many hands have touched it, where they were going and why. &nbsp;I still ponder this each time I walk past it. &nbsp;The eagle eyed will note that this photo was not taken this month!</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Leaf</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><br /></b><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XNdI4pNqeHs/V2-dTxF_9WI/AAAAAAAADa8/GSN-mawAYgQTPUw3PygVW06flYBb2kRiQCKgB/s1600/IMG_1963.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XNdI4pNqeHs/V2-dTxF_9WI/AAAAAAAADa8/GSN-mawAYgQTPUw3PygVW06flYBb2kRiQCKgB/s640/IMG_1963.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;">When we first started to create our garden I wanted it to be full of either edible or interesting and unusual plants. &nbsp;I forget where I discovered this particular plant, <i>Actinidia kolomikta,&nbsp;</i>but I loved that the leaves changed colour in the sun. &nbsp;We planted it about twelve years ago and it is now a lovely mature plant covering the trellis it was planted by. &nbsp;It provides a good shelter for the bird box attached to the back of the trellis. &nbsp;Our climate means that in some summers the foliage remains a resolute green, but this summer it is a blaze of colour greens, whites and pinks.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Flower (my choice of category)</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><br /></b><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4vLL9ayY9_g/V2-dTI3x9LI/AAAAAAAADa8/M0_0WNVmn9YxzcA9FWryBxPO8_mvSJnmwCKgB/s1600/IMG_1958.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4vLL9ayY9_g/V2-dTI3x9LI/AAAAAAAADa8/M0_0WNVmn9YxzcA9FWryBxPO8_mvSJnmwCKgB/s640/IMG_1958.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;">I just love these flowers, Orange Hawkweed, that have taken up residence in my garden. &nbsp;I have no idea how they arrived but they are a most welcome visitor which seems to be thriving. &nbsp;I love that they flower in groups and the heads open up in the sun and close when it is wet or at sunset.<br /><br />So now we head into July. &nbsp;A month for a family holiday which means I will be offline for a week or so at the beginning of the month. &nbsp;I will catch up with you all on my return. &nbsp;I am hoping to schedule some blog posts to publish whilst I am away, time permitting.........<br /><br />Looking forward to all that July as to bring, including the photo prompts!</div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/sustainablemum/~4/_QYIi79Dszc" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/sustainablemum/~3/_QYIi79Dszc/june-in-photos.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (sustainablemum)21http://sustainable-mum.blogspot.com/2016/06/june-in-photos.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1151798681951781536.post-8370832592161257035Fri, 24 Jun 2016 08:47:00 +00002016-06-24T09:47:22.360+01:00In my KitchenIn My Kitchen<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-q3S00Kg6K-o/V2zl34AK4uI/AAAAAAAADZE/FVgYYlthtgkfKc0ZOjrJqmMF2LwzKfRZwCLcB/s1600/IMG_1909.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-q3S00Kg6K-o/V2zl34AK4uI/AAAAAAAADZE/FVgYYlthtgkfKc0ZOjrJqmMF2LwzKfRZwCLcB/s640/IMG_1909.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />I love to cook, good food is really important to me. &nbsp;If you are anything like me you spend a large amount of your life in the kitchen preparing good nourishing food to eat, so this is what has been going on in my kitchen this month. &nbsp;If you would like to join in you would be most welcome, leave a link in the comments section.<br /><br />June has been a full month, days full of mostly being outside enjoying the sunshine. &nbsp;We have eaten so many meals outside either at home or whilst out and about. &nbsp;It has been mostly about salads with the odd warmer meal thrown in the mix for those, rare, cooler days. &nbsp;This post is a little later this month, we were away for our annual summer solstice camp and I completely failed to factor in writing a blog post before we went away. &nbsp;Better late than never!<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-atBHo7ekLto/V2zl3sdb51I/AAAAAAAADZU/4ygoNaJZqjEB1nMWkjjlucQ8FBGzJZgugCKgB/s1600/IMG_1677.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-atBHo7ekLto/V2zl3sdb51I/AAAAAAAADZU/4ygoNaJZqjEB1nMWkjjlucQ8FBGzJZgugCKgB/s640/IMG_1677.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />I rekindled my love for an old recipe book on my shelves this month. &nbsp;It is one of those books which rarely fails to let me down. &nbsp;I discovered a section on breads that I hadn't previously noticed. &nbsp;The recipes are a mix of yeasted and batter breads, the latter being more like a savoury cake. &nbsp;I tried two. &nbsp;A savoury nut and a cottage cheese and dill. &nbsp;The picture is the nut bread which was definitely the better of the two, I have made it twice this month and we have eaten it with salads, hummus and bean spreads. &nbsp;I am going to try freezing it next time I make some as it makes a big loaf which hasn't been keeping in the heat we have had, the birds enjoyed it too!<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KxPvhyLcJWM/V2zlxv6nIeI/AAAAAAAADZU/91wyWnn6brcA2FQZ6Juaue8NUnrrmRAxwCKgB/s1600/IMG_1680.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KxPvhyLcJWM/V2zlxv6nIeI/AAAAAAAADZU/91wyWnn6brcA2FQZ6Juaue8NUnrrmRAxwCKgB/s640/IMG_1680.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />Sometimes digging through old recipe books for new ideas can remind me of favourites that I have forgotten. &nbsp;So carrot pie made it back on to our menus this month, a pie that looks dramatic, tastes wonderful and is really easy to make. &nbsp;It has a pastry base and a filling of cooked onion and carrot mixed with cream and cheddar cheese, egg and herbs which you cook for 45 minutes. &nbsp;It is delicious hot or cold and I just love the way it looks when you cut into it.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-yENUjghheV8/V2zln7RnzXI/AAAAAAAADZQ/7T7AiEOgHp4fnPS_fgA-s8Z4VFoQxil8ACKgB/s1600/IMG_1477.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-yENUjghheV8/V2zln7RnzXI/AAAAAAAADZQ/7T7AiEOgHp4fnPS_fgA-s8Z4VFoQxil8ACKgB/s640/IMG_1477.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />We celebrated a birthday in our house this month. &nbsp;Alice turned&nbsp;<a href="http://sustainable-mum.blogspot.co.uk/2016/06/seven.html" target="_blank">seven</a>. &nbsp;She told me exactly what she wanted to do on the day, including the guests she wanted to invite and the food she wanted to eat. &nbsp;Her chosen guests meant that the menu had to be gluten, egg and dairy free so my usual birthday cake was out as were all the recipes in my recipe books. &nbsp;The result was a vegan cake which was incredibly rich, fed all the party guests and kept us going in cake for nearly a week afterwards! &nbsp;I used <a href="http://rawfoodrecipes.com/recipes/oil-free-raw-chocolate-blueberry-cake/" target="_blank">this</a>&nbsp;recipe which looks nothing like mine (I don't think my blueberries were the right variety to give such a purple shade to the top layer) it didn't suggest what size of tin to assemble all the ingredients in but clearly I used something much bigger. &nbsp;However given the richness I think this size was perfect. &nbsp;We ate lots of salads before the cake, beetroot and feta, chickpea, red rice and a green one accompanied by lots of potato wedgies. &nbsp;It all got eaten a sure sign that I got it right.<br /><br />One thing about being busy is that you forget to take photos so I don't have any more to share. &nbsp;Courgettes are back in our veg bag now and we have been enjoying a courgette and cheese bake and lots of delicious salads. &nbsp;The asparagus season lasted a long time this year and we have been eating the salad I shared <a href="http://sustainable-mum.blogspot.co.uk/2016/05/in-my-kitchen.html" target="_blank">last month</a>&nbsp;every week, I could never tire of it. &nbsp;We have tried a butter bean and brie salad, a new to us mixed bean salad and lots of salads made with whatever is in the fridge and the garden. &nbsp;I have started to cook a curry each week which has introduced us to some more new recipes all of which have been delicious.<br /><br />I have had quite a few conversations about meal planning recently, it is something that I have done for a number of years now. &nbsp;I am not evangelical about it as I know that it doesn't work for everyone however it does save money and time and I am sure it could help to reduce food waste if more people did it. &nbsp; Planning means that when I have the time and feel inclined I peruse my recipe books looking for new ideas for meals. &nbsp;When time is precious and I am tired then I throw together a menu of old favourites the list of which is always increasing! &nbsp;Are you a meal planner?<br /><br />I am not going to share a recipe with you this month, I hope you are ok with that. &nbsp;I will be back in July with hopefully a few more pictures and a recipe for share. &nbsp;In the meantime I need to go off and do the weekly shop. &nbsp;What have you been cooking lately?<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/sustainablemum/~4/bXU5oDdNqiA" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/sustainablemum/~3/bXU5oDdNqiA/in-my-kitchen.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (sustainablemum)22http://sustainable-mum.blogspot.com/2016/06/in-my-kitchen.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1151798681951781536.post-1643485536442730632Tue, 14 Jun 2016 23:00:00 +00002016-06-15T00:00:08.301+01:00family lifenature studyResting and Recharging<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RHZdP7TpFfA/V16Py0dritI/AAAAAAAADXc/dEt07KLQLuosWgPzGcUle-JEz4cLr_hNgCLcB/s1600/IMG_1490.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RHZdP7TpFfA/V16Py0dritI/AAAAAAAADXc/dEt07KLQLuosWgPzGcUle-JEz4cLr_hNgCLcB/s640/IMG_1490.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tmUpB4ASlUc/V16P9nPqiPI/AAAAAAAADXk/UBlxf3dT418zNdZgWKjKv9KWYQ3b-dqCgCLcB/s1600/IMG_1495.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tmUpB4ASlUc/V16P9nPqiPI/AAAAAAAADXk/UBlxf3dT418zNdZgWKjKv9KWYQ3b-dqCgCLcB/s640/IMG_1495.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vTk_fxLyxx4/V16P-qRqJnI/AAAAAAAADXs/xEDBlHCcJskt7Kgo95jy3NJIaJ6TxtCNQCLcB/s1600/IMG_1555.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vTk_fxLyxx4/V16P-qRqJnI/AAAAAAAADXs/xEDBlHCcJskt7Kgo95jy3NJIaJ6TxtCNQCLcB/s640/IMG_1555.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zm0-cHusUyA/V16P-lLTqII/AAAAAAAADXw/uGS9tUWX8ycuXlcbi68DQJFEGfE334mjwCLcB/s1600/IMG_1563.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zm0-cHusUyA/V16P-lLTqII/AAAAAAAADXw/uGS9tUWX8ycuXlcbi68DQJFEGfE334mjwCLcB/s640/IMG_1563.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zjOG4X31Dp4/V16QJJdGXBI/AAAAAAAADX4/lyEgIBh46V8ZWuW78RPLaSDM4As6_IAqACLcB/s1600/IMG_1568.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zjOG4X31Dp4/V16QJJdGXBI/AAAAAAAADX4/lyEgIBh46V8ZWuW78RPLaSDM4As6_IAqACLcB/s640/IMG_1568.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rxlhzelGoqQ/V16QP5A4VBI/AAAAAAAADYI/UwOdYDd3AysC-ws0wTHWQG98VdXczQjlgCLcB/s1600/IMG_1572.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rxlhzelGoqQ/V16QP5A4VBI/AAAAAAAADYI/UwOdYDd3AysC-ws0wTHWQG98VdXczQjlgCLcB/s640/IMG_1572.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-OnZefqmZkVo/V16QOuguM6I/AAAAAAAADYA/RmY0O_RJvC85IXacO4sj1pSgZdd1k8zYACLcB/s1600/IMG_1575.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-OnZefqmZkVo/V16QOuguM6I/AAAAAAAADYA/RmY0O_RJvC85IXacO4sj1pSgZdd1k8zYACLcB/s640/IMG_1575.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-htBcJQ8P0vo/V16QVgZ5BNI/AAAAAAAADYU/i0hvFEIyCXIc7SN52szAoV6LnOgXLVyCQCLcB/s1600/IMG_1597.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-htBcJQ8P0vo/V16QVgZ5BNI/AAAAAAAADYU/i0hvFEIyCXIc7SN52szAoV6LnOgXLVyCQCLcB/s640/IMG_1597.JPG" width="426" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rERxhfU5Jjg/V16QZkQALPI/AAAAAAAADYc/KODL_GSX35k8mbVwzq4DBiocbwUH9QuiwCLcB/s1600/IMG_1590.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rERxhfU5Jjg/V16QZkQALPI/AAAAAAAADYc/KODL_GSX35k8mbVwzq4DBiocbwUH9QuiwCLcB/s640/IMG_1590.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />A week or so ago we had a bank holiday weekend here in the UK. &nbsp;What that means is that we get to have Daddy at home for an extra day. &nbsp;Now I don't know about you but often I get to the weekend and I want/need a rest and time to catch up with all the jobs around the house that I don't have time for during the week. &nbsp;Saturdays start with gymnastics in our local town which seems to make the morning disappear in a flash, the afternoon seems to end before it has started and before you know it is Sunday night, my list of jobs is done and we are on the cusp of a new week. &nbsp;Whilst I need weekends like that to keep on top of things it is good to occasionally to put the chores aside and do something completely different.<br /><br />I know that everyone will have their own idea about what they would do to have a rest and recharge but for me it has to involve the whole family, be outside and away from our house. &nbsp;It is all to easy when you are at home to be distracted by the wafting dust, the ironing pile or the sewing lurking on a chair, all things that I need and (sometimes) love to do but not all the time! &nbsp;Doing something completely different is a good change. &nbsp;When we saw that the bank holiday weekend was forecast to hot, sunny and dry we knew that we had to go bivving somewhere. The children, when asked, opted to canoe rather than walk, so canoeing it was. &nbsp;The weather forecast was right it was wall to wall sunshine and the winds were light making canoeing a dream. &nbsp;Despite the busy car parks once on the lake it was much quieter, there are a few hot spots where people congregate, but we mostly had the lake to ourselves. &nbsp;This is somewhere we have camped over night before, so after pootling up and down the lake we went to our favourite spot to set up camp.<br /><br />Life is pared back to the simple. &nbsp;Gathering wood for a fire, collecting water for cooking and drinking, cooking and eating simple food. &nbsp;There is time to stop, to watch and soak up what is going on around you. &nbsp;Each time I went up stream to get water I paused to watch and listen to the birds, mostly listening as the leaves provide the perfect cover. &nbsp;On one occasion I went back to 'camp' for our binoculars and Cameron as I could see a bird flitting about but couldn't be sure what it was. &nbsp;We woke to sunshine streaming into the shelter and the soft slap of an early morning swimmer, despite the early hour we got up to soak up the beautiful morning, Alice and my husband took a dip whilst I cooked date porridge and sipped my cup of tea. <br /><br />Arriving home later we all had a skip in our step and finished the three day weekend with lots of jobs completed and feeling happy and most definitely recharged. &nbsp;What is your favourite thing to do to put the bounce back in your step?<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/sustainablemum/~4/a2PlGrb0CJ4" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/sustainablemum/~3/a2PlGrb0CJ4/resting-and-recharging.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (sustainablemum)26http://sustainable-mum.blogspot.com/2016/06/resting-and-recharging.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1151798681951781536.post-6873677500238142147Tue, 07 Jun 2016 23:00:00 +00002016-06-08T09:46:16.380+01:00#30 Days Wildhome educationnature studyThe sun is shining......<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1_1TO52fQR8/V1ao2HvxobI/AAAAAAAADXA/R7ONJUK2WmYzEyLX00jS016Q0Xbw3lNQgCLcB/s1600/IMG_1612.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1_1TO52fQR8/V1ao2HvxobI/AAAAAAAADXA/R7ONJUK2WmYzEyLX00jS016Q0Xbw3lNQgCLcB/s640/IMG_1612.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FT8h4c2_l0A/V1ao1-_X7wI/AAAAAAAADW8/YetTrhn7Xbs9S289Y_zsWuCy8FkDYwtwACLcB/s1600/IMG_1629.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FT8h4c2_l0A/V1ao1-_X7wI/AAAAAAAADW8/YetTrhn7Xbs9S289Y_zsWuCy8FkDYwtwACLcB/s640/IMG_1629.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pw__NLJ1tco/V1ao4djhdxI/AAAAAAAADXM/nSHVn2bbCPYyUhGgjKnfgG8qPY0g93svQCLcB/s1600/IMG_1669.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pw__NLJ1tco/V1ao4djhdxI/AAAAAAAADXM/nSHVn2bbCPYyUhGgjKnfgG8qPY0g93svQCLcB/s640/IMG_1669.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><br />....and whatever people say about the weather, when the sun shines all is good. It makes you smile, puts a bounce in your step and lightens your load however heavy it is.&nbsp;A sunny winter day is so much easier than a dull grey day, but sun in the late Spring/Summer is the icing on the cake. &nbsp;Getting out of the house is so much easier when you don't need loads of layers to stay warm, although there is a pile of other bits you just need to take with you isn't there!<br /><br />We British are good at weather, talking about it is one our <a href="http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20151214-why-do-brits-talk-about-the-weather-so-much" target="_blank">nation's pastimes</a>&nbsp;we are never short of topics as it is so very unpredictable (climate change notwithstanding). &nbsp;Last summer was cool, very cool. &nbsp;I wore tights, the thick winter kind, most of the season. &nbsp;The cool summer was followed by a beautiful autumn a welcome change and then followed by an extremely wet winter. &nbsp;I do live in a part of the country that experiences cooler temperatures as the norm but seeing the sky and the sun occasionally makes the grey days more bearable.<br /><br />These past few weeks have been wonderful, surpassing all my expectations, most of May and all of June has been wall to wall sunshine. we have had temperatures higher than parts of of the UK south of us which is exceptional! &nbsp;We are loving it and making the most of it. &nbsp;Our village pool has reopened and we have finally managed to make use of it a couple of weeks after it opened. &nbsp;We have had some wonderful walks, nature days and I discovered that the UK Wildlife Trusts were doing a fun initiative&nbsp;<a href="http://action.wildlifetrusts.org/ea-action/action?ea.client.id=1823&amp;ea.campaign.id=48499" target="_blank">30 Days Wild</a>&nbsp;for the month of June which I thought it would be fun to sign up for. &nbsp;It doesn't require you to go on long walks everyday but to find your own way to connect with the 'wild' that is all around you. <br /><br />I thought it would be fun to try a see what happens approach, so far we have watched the Blue Tits going in and out our nest box, seen House Sparrows mating, done a hedge transect, paddled in a stream, swum in a lake, had lunch outside everyday and watched a spider descending down a line.<br /><br />The weather is forecast to be hot and sunny for the rest of the month, so I am told, I for one am not complaining......<br /><br />What about June where you are?<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/sustainablemum/~4/_RlhM5iUvl8" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/sustainablemum/~3/_RlhM5iUvl8/the-sun-is-shining.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (sustainablemum)35http://sustainable-mum.blogspot.com/2016/06/the-sun-is-shining.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1151798681951781536.post-4108698609588667827Wed, 01 Jun 2016 23:00:00 +00002016-06-02T17:44:31.674+01:00birthdaysSeven<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4sy7ExClUAI/V08BdxXh9yI/AAAAAAAADWo/liTwgVqcR_U5Z4d32ECHTqOhmAp1gqENgCLcB/s1600/IMG_1390.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4sy7ExClUAI/V08BdxXh9yI/AAAAAAAADWo/liTwgVqcR_U5Z4d32ECHTqOhmAp1gqENgCLcB/s640/IMG_1390.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wl9CNZe0coE/V08BeyJkkgI/AAAAAAAADWs/YyhScWcCTCoc3-MReS6zt7bWDY4zVGlxwCLcB/s1600/AoifeBdayCollage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="358" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wl9CNZe0coE/V08BeyJkkgI/AAAAAAAADWs/YyhScWcCTCoc3-MReS6zt7bWDY4zVGlxwCLcB/s640/AoifeBdayCollage.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-E0XVU8JHhHk/V0a5ewYc79I/AAAAAAAADWE/rQbj6TtdAuEbYHWChNEMZm-idOWtyQaYQCKgB/s1600/IMG_1486.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-E0XVU8JHhHk/V0a5ewYc79I/AAAAAAAADWE/rQbj6TtdAuEbYHWChNEMZm-idOWtyQaYQCKgB/s640/IMG_1486.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1zxxLBWTfbo/V0bDjkj_bkI/AAAAAAAADWQ/Ae40Tl5kC6URFhZquOLMlbDWdIWh3FKjwCKgB/s1600/IMG_1477.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1zxxLBWTfbo/V0bDjkj_bkI/AAAAAAAADWQ/Ae40Tl5kC6URFhZquOLMlbDWdIWh3FKjwCKgB/s640/IMG_1477.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />Last week we celebrated the end of Alice's seventh year around the sun, a year packed with adventure and lots of unexpected happenings too. &nbsp;She wanted a party this year, last year we went camping as a family, and a few weeks before her birthday told me who we were to invite, it was a lengthy list six friends plus siblings we had fourteen extra people in our little house. &nbsp;It was the perfect occasion and it never felt that there were that many people around even when we squashed round the table for lunch. Luckily the rain that was forecast never arrived so much time was spent outdoors.<br /><br />Like all the years in a child's life it has been one of big changes, it has felt to me like a transition time, a time when she is on the cusp between one world and another. &nbsp;These words, Alice, are for you.<br /><br />You started the year not really knowing your numbers or any of your letters, you were frustrated by your, as you saw it, lack of drawing skills comparing yourself to yourself to Cameron who has a few years head start on you. &nbsp;Your preference was to play with one child at a time, you didn't like to play in big groups of children although you loved attending our groups you wanted one on one play even there. &nbsp;You were starting to look to me for help with your learning which caught me on the hop as Cameron was much older.<br /><br />You mastered those numbers, slowly at first getting those dreaded teens wrong, they the wrong way round according to you and elevens and twelves those daft numbers that follow no logic were a little behind them. &nbsp;But as I got the measure of how you learn, I thank you from the bottom of my heart for your patience, you mastered them, more than mastered them you were manipulating them within a few short weeks in ways that I would never have expected. &nbsp;It was a time that make me glad I had paused for thought when considering your education a few years earlier, school a greater possibility than for Cameron.<br /><br />Excited by your number learning you wanted to try the letters too so we got started. &nbsp;I could soon see you were not ready and we quietly put that to rest until a few weeks ago when you started asking again, the time feels right now. &nbsp;I have created a entirely new project for us both to share and you are loving it, excited each day we work on it.<br /><br />You haven't given up on that drawing, I am so glad, you have found your own style and tackle everything and anything without hesitation. &nbsp;I have always admired your tenacity you came close to giving up but I am so glad you didn't.<br /><br />I love that when we are sharing books together you ask so many questions relating to the story. &nbsp;In fact your questions have taken on a new level, enquiry is at the heart of them. &nbsp;You are trying to make sense of the big wide world out there, with slow steps. &nbsp;I am here my love to hold your hand wherever it takes you.<br /><br />You have made lots of new friends this year. &nbsp;Your best friend is the one you made first, one that I hope you are in touch with for many years and decades to come. &nbsp;You are both strong willed characters but you could play for hours and hours together and do, happily. &nbsp;You are both sad when you part. &nbsp;We started attending a new group, to us, just over a year ago so that we could meet children your age. &nbsp;You made one friend early on who you played with every week we were both there but you struggled when she wasn't. &nbsp;She wanted to join others and play in a group, you weren't sure. &nbsp;You were unsure how that kind of play worked, but you have got it sussed and now you have the confidence to join other groups of children at play even when you don't know them all.<br /><br />You are moving away from me ever more. &nbsp;You have spent whole days at friends houses and two nights away from me on sleepovers. &nbsp;I thought it would a few more years before that happened but you have been so happy (and tired) when you returned that I know that you have really enjoyed yourself.<br /><br />You are my outdoor child. &nbsp;You would spend each and every day outside all year round, this is one of the few bits of you that is like me. &nbsp;We have camped so much this year an activity which always makes you so happy. &nbsp;You especially loved our wild camping when we walked miles carrying everything we needed, your little legs taking you where we needed to be and loving every minute of it. &nbsp;You are so much more grounded and happy when you have had time outside.<br /><br />And then right in the middle of your year round the sun you got ill, <a href="http://sustainable-mum.blogspot.co.uk/2015/12/re-evaluating-with-strawberry-brown.html" target="_blank">really ill</a>. &nbsp;You are a healthy soul, bouncing back from any illness quickly most lasting no more than 36 hours. &nbsp;You rarely pick up coughs and colds. &nbsp;This was different and knocked you and me sideways. &nbsp;I hope that was a one off. &nbsp;I know that it has knocked you in more ways than one. &nbsp;It took us both a long time to really properly recover and there are still parts of us that haven't. &nbsp;I hope that time helps with that.<br /><br />I am looking forward to your eighth year round the sun. &nbsp;I know that it is going to bring more adventures, I can't wait........<br /><br />Happy Birthday my love.<br /><br /><a href="http://sustainable-mum.blogspot.co.uk/2015/10/six.html" target="_blank">Six</a>,&nbsp;<a href="http://sustainable-mum.blogspot.co.uk/2014/05/five.html" target="_blank">Five</a>,&nbsp;<a href="http://sustainable-mum.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/four.html" target="_blank">Four</a>,&nbsp;<a href="http://sustainable-mum.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/celebration.html" target="_blank">Three</a><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/sustainablemum/~4/L1E00xh4y0U" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/sustainablemum/~3/L1E00xh4y0U/seven.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (sustainablemum)36http://sustainable-mum.blogspot.com/2016/06/seven.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1151798681951781536.post-5086499985835502232Thu, 26 May 2016 23:00:00 +00002016-05-28T11:02:37.983+01:00photo scavenger huntMay in PhotosSo May, you have been a busy month but a really good one with it, good busyness is the best kind don't you think? &nbsp;I am ready for a rest now. &nbsp;I have once again joined in the <a href="http://livelovecraftme.blogspot.co.uk/2016/05/may-2016-scavenger-photo-hunt.html" target="_blank">Photo Scavenger Hunt </a>hosted by <a href="http://livelovecraftme.blogspot.co.uk/" target="_blank">Hawthorn Spellweaver</a> so here are my photos inspired by words and words inspired by photos for May.<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Path</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-prHcgBsOmfE/V0a5c5uFjkI/AAAAAAAADV0/C12maR3twqIZ3HK3BkytQkToj-LsZXY-ACKgB/s1600/IMG_1367.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-prHcgBsOmfE/V0a5c5uFjkI/AAAAAAAADV0/C12maR3twqIZ3HK3BkytQkToj-LsZXY-ACKgB/s640/IMG_1367.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>&nbsp;A path on a walk we took on one of our Wednesday nature days. &nbsp;I love this place it is a few minutes drive from my house, close to a busy motorway and yet we never see anyone when we walk here. &nbsp;It feels like you are in the middle of nowhere. &nbsp;The forecast was for rain showers all afternoon, undaunted we set off and had a beautiful afternoon in the sunshine with patches of blue sky and big white fluffy clouds. &nbsp;I could have stayed out till dark, we were late home this picture was taken at 5.30pm and we still had a fair walk back to the car.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Hairy</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-E0XVU8JHhHk/V0a5ewYc79I/AAAAAAAADWE/rQbj6TtdAuEbYHWChNEMZm-idOWtyQaYQCKgB/s1600/IMG_1486.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-E0XVU8JHhHk/V0a5ewYc79I/AAAAAAAADWE/rQbj6TtdAuEbYHWChNEMZm-idOWtyQaYQCKgB/s640/IMG_1486.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>A daisy flower fairy with slightly mad hair, taking pride of place on our <a href="http://www.myriadonline.co.uk/wooden-birthday-candle-rings.php" target="_blank">birthday ring</a>.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Edible</b>&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5IpP7ejzog8/V0a5Jr4JxOI/AAAAAAAADV8/pn9n-1CdTRc0z8nXkRyT4zsmm3bedjw6wCKgB/s1600/IMG_1284.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5IpP7ejzog8/V0a5Jr4JxOI/AAAAAAAADV8/pn9n-1CdTRc0z8nXkRyT4zsmm3bedjw6wCKgB/s640/IMG_1284.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>&nbsp;Wood Sorrel. Sprouting up everywhere at the moment with its delicate wild flowers. &nbsp;The leaves have a slightly citrusy taste, if you haven't tried one look out for them next time you are in a wood.<br /><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Small</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9nv3QsGMreg/V0a5MJCUqMI/AAAAAAAADV8/0t8-yxuX8yMz7cYl6IkgVZtldyBINreUQCKgB/s1600/IMG_1289.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9nv3QsGMreg/V0a5MJCUqMI/AAAAAAAADV8/0t8-yxuX8yMz7cYl6IkgVZtldyBINreUQCKgB/s640/IMG_1289.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;">Actually make that tiny, or maybe minute! &nbsp;A Gorse Shieldbug, one of the topics of our nature study &nbsp;this month. &nbsp;Cameron remembered a good place to find gorse so we went off on a hunt to find them in the wild, having learnt about them at home. &nbsp;Our research paid off as not only did <strike>we</strike>&nbsp;Alice&nbsp;find the bugs themselves we also found the eggs (also Alice), the bugs are 10 - 13 mm the eggs are significantly smaller. &nbsp;The gorse was absolutely amazing, a feast for the eyes and nose the bushes covered the hillside and were carpeted in flowers, their wonderful scent filled the air, the smell was divine.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Poem</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1zxxLBWTfbo/V0bDjkj_bkI/AAAAAAAADWM/q74_4l2NGR4WGluRPYFoF4LmKCylkP1jACLcB/s1600/IMG_1477.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1zxxLBWTfbo/V0bDjkj_bkI/AAAAAAAADWM/q74_4l2NGR4WGluRPYFoF4LmKCylkP1jACLcB/s640/IMG_1477.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: center;">When I have said my evening words,*</div><div style="text-align: center;">And my clothes are folded on the chair,</div><div style="text-align: center;">And mother switches off the light,</div><div style="text-align: center;">I'll still be six years old tonight.</div><div style="text-align: center;">But, from the very break of day,</div><div style="text-align: center;">Before the children rise and play,</div><div style="text-align: center;">Before the darkness turns to gold</div><div style="text-align: center;">Tomorrow, I'll be seven years old,</div><div style="text-align: center;">Seven kisses when I wake,</div><div style="text-align: center;">Seven candles on my cake!</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">*we always talk about the good parts of the day and share a poem together.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Hands</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-eiH9QqamrmU/V0a5Vfg97FI/AAAAAAAADWE/A3bI-pb-cdor7dU_vuBUqxaOiSO5Q-3OQCKgB/s1600/IMG_1338.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-eiH9QqamrmU/V0a5Vfg97FI/AAAAAAAADWE/A3bI-pb-cdor7dU_vuBUqxaOiSO5Q-3OQCKgB/s640/IMG_1338.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;">Alice making labels for her homemade party bags.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Vintage</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-56tqvl2Qnf4/V0a5KykTCTI/AAAAAAAADV8/zdYkiESvvgk8T2PpvaoYprwQDNG_zuXzACKgB/s1600/IMG_1210.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-56tqvl2Qnf4/V0a5KykTCTI/AAAAAAAADV8/zdYkiESvvgk8T2PpvaoYprwQDNG_zuXzACKgB/s640/IMG_1210.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;">This sign rather amused me especially as the gate itself was padlocked shut! &nbsp;The observant may notice that it is an old railway sign, so it was a necessary message in its day, owned by the company who included the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LNER_Class_A4_4468_Mallard" target="_blank">Mallard</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LNER_Class_A3_4472_Flying_Scotsman" target="_blank">Flying Scotsman</a> in their rolling stock the latter came past our house not so long ago. &nbsp;We see quite a few steam trains rolling along the line at the end of our garden so we have become a little blasé about them passing, we were eating lunch and could hear it coming from a way off, steams trains have a particular sound, we looked up noted it passing and carried on eating it was only later that we discovered it was the Flying Scotsman!</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Shadows</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Kz1_pa-SpE0/V0bF0YfZxpI/AAAAAAAADWY/19VeJXjG3b4wbOMszgYhNaEHtgXg1vLcwCLcB/s1600/IMG_8263.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Kz1_pa-SpE0/V0bF0YfZxpI/AAAAAAAADWY/19VeJXjG3b4wbOMszgYhNaEHtgXg1vLcwCLcB/s640/IMG_8263.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;">I am blessed to live in a&nbsp;beautiful area, full of wide open spaces some of which are spoilt by ugly electricity pylon lines. &nbsp;On an early evening walk this month I was struck by the beauty of the sunset reflected in this large puddle not realising that I had managed to capture one of those pylons in my picture too!</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>View from a Window</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-D12hVAja0DI/VzG-xxFZ4_I/AAAAAAAADUg/lBXeQVwt534pFrMjnSa_Oh8j4LyaaZj_ACKgB/s1600/IMG_1263.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="528" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-D12hVAja0DI/VzG-xxFZ4_I/AAAAAAAADUg/lBXeQVwt534pFrMjnSa_Oh8j4LyaaZj_ACKgB/s640/IMG_1263.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;">I did take several pictures when I took this one but managed to&nbsp;delete all but this one! &nbsp;This has <a href="http://sustainable-mum.blogspot.co.uk/2016/05/daybook.html" target="_blank">already appeared </a>this month, but I do love it so I hope you don't mind me including it here too!</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Flower (my choice of category)</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-hYYN6v42e-4/V0a5cMg48fI/AAAAAAAADWE/ddgp2DskBZ8OcaYHLk5iVNJfBMZVU94sgCKgB/s1600/IMG_1309.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-hYYN6v42e-4/V0a5cMg48fI/AAAAAAAADWE/ddgp2DskBZ8OcaYHLk5iVNJfBMZVU94sgCKgB/s640/IMG_1309.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;">Remember those gorse flowers I mentioned? &nbsp;Here are some of them, I can&nbsp;still smell them when I look at the pictures.<br /><br />My busyness this month has meant that I have had days at a time without getting online. &nbsp;I know that I have not been visiting blogs like I usually do. &nbsp;I shall be coming a visiting soon, I am sorry I have been a little absent!<br /><br />Looking forward to what June has to bring, including the prompts for photos.......</div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/sustainablemum/~4/gksk0A0K8F0" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/sustainablemum/~3/gksk0A0K8F0/may-in-photos.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (sustainablemum)36http://sustainable-mum.blogspot.com/2016/05/may-in-photos.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1151798681951781536.post-148597205968308497Wed, 18 May 2016 23:00:00 +00002016-06-24T09:08:15.373+01:00In my KitchenIn My Kitchen<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-s46cPPn9r1o/VzzPOVMHjfI/AAAAAAAADU4/BH1x-ezRXpY-Gy-mFuESVNGJch9k5zDZgCLcB/s1600/IMG_1278.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-s46cPPn9r1o/VzzPOVMHjfI/AAAAAAAADU4/BH1x-ezRXpY-Gy-mFuESVNGJch9k5zDZgCLcB/s640/IMG_1278.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />I love to cook, good food is really important to me. &nbsp;If you are anything like me you spend a large amount of your life in the kitchen preparing good nourishing food to eat, so this is what has been going on in my kitchen this month. &nbsp;If you would like to join in you would be most welcome, leave a link in the comments section.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vGKaAUIvkaI/VzzOpTKlOnI/AAAAAAAADUs/ET4LvwTmjWc5u7tINlRQqAFJWK8pXmxYACKgB/s1600/IMG_1246.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vGKaAUIvkaI/VzzOpTKlOnI/AAAAAAAADUs/ET4LvwTmjWc5u7tINlRQqAFJWK8pXmxYACKgB/s640/IMG_1246.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />I always start off the Spring with good intentions to forage for wild food throughout the growing season, getting excited when the wild garlic puts in an appearance and never really going much further until the rosehips and blackberries appear in the Autumn. &nbsp;I do hope that I manage better than that this year! &nbsp;But I have been out picking wild garlic leaves this month and whizzing up batches of <a href="http://sustainable-mum.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/we-have-been-mainly.html" target="_blank">pesto</a>, I used almonds this time. &nbsp;I always pick a good quantity of leaves, from several different places to ensure that I am not compromising the plants in one particular place, and freeze some of the batches for use during the year. &nbsp;We don't eat huge amounts of pesto but it is much nicer to eat your own. &nbsp;There were a few leaves left over so I just had to make some scones with them as I had been seeing recipes for them all over the web in April. &nbsp;I made a small batch as scones taste so much better the day they are cooked and I don't think they freeze terribly well. &nbsp;We ate ours with a bean spread. &nbsp;Delicious!<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--hQL1DMsHsc/VzzWFXfLOdI/AAAAAAAADVM/9LOAXOOyODgC9CNmrMCSKPsYeNugS6upACLcB/s1600/Salad%2BCollage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="358" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--hQL1DMsHsc/VzzWFXfLOdI/AAAAAAAADVM/9LOAXOOyODgC9CNmrMCSKPsYeNugS6upACLcB/s640/Salad%2BCollage.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />I think we may well have eaten salads every day this month, certainly my children would have you believe so, not salad again I hear them cry whilst they tuck in and eat every last mouthful! &nbsp;They have been a mix of made up recipes with anything I had to hand, they are often the best and the most impossible to recreate as I never have the same bits to use up from one week to the next, and recipes that were both new to us or tried and tested. &nbsp;The one on the far right above has tofu in it which I thought was delicious but the rest of the family decided they preferred the smoked tofu salad I make, this one was marinated and baked. &nbsp;The rest are all grain based with rice at the top and pearl barley and couscous at the bottom. &nbsp;I have been adding nuts and seeds to the made up salads, particularly toasted ones. &nbsp;I soaked a big batch of pumpkin seeds overnight and toasted them on a low oven, sprinkling a bit of chilli powder over them first, until they were crisp, they don't last long round here. &nbsp;They have been enjoyed in salads and as a tasty snack. &nbsp;The first picture in the post is a beetroot and feta salad that we all adore and would eat every week of the year, I do make this every week we get beetroot in our veg bag. <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-BjS_oCGQ3s4/VzzOpzsNdhI/AAAAAAAADUw/EK1zORNLn6ky_w8ptsYgXQTgfkLo1gVpgCLcB/s1600/IMG_1352.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-BjS_oCGQ3s4/VzzOpzsNdhI/AAAAAAAADUw/EK1zORNLn6ky_w8ptsYgXQTgfkLo1gVpgCLcB/s640/IMG_1352.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />I mentioned in my&nbsp;<a href="http://sustainable-mum.blogspot.co.uk/2016/03/in-my-kitchen.html" target="_blank">March</a>&nbsp;in my kitchen post that I was on the hunt for tasty recipes for breakfast. &nbsp;I tried two this month. &nbsp;A Banana Bread with Millet in it, which got eaten so quickly that I failed to take any pictures! &nbsp;It was delicious with yogurt and/or apple puree. &nbsp;It was one of those recipes with a very long list of ingredients which usually that means they take forever to make, but not in this case. It required some forward planning as the millet needed to be cooked first before adding to the mix, but it was a two bowl method, one dry, one wet, mix together, spoon into tin and into the oven. &nbsp;The other recipe was a Breakfast Bar. &nbsp;It was from a book I was given earlier in the year, one that I thought was going to be great but has actually turned out to be a disappointment and is rather hard on the wallet. &nbsp;Again these were banana based this time with oats and a few other ingredients, they were ok but I don't think I would make them again however I may use the recipe as a basis to have a go at coming up with my own take. &nbsp;I can see that these would be really useful when camping or out walking as they were good and solid and didn't fall apart like so many of this type of bar do, so watch this space I might be sharing my results at some point! <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-16ZTNLcJDFI/VzzPOGMYt_I/AAAAAAAADVA/Su7v-dWmRYU99jnQDB6ElYYuoqIAzDD0QCKgB/s1600/IMG_1240.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-16ZTNLcJDFI/VzzPOGMYt_I/AAAAAAAADVA/Su7v-dWmRYU99jnQDB6ElYYuoqIAzDD0QCKgB/s640/IMG_1240.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />We have entered the, very short but rather lovely, Asparagus season here in the UK. &nbsp;We get a handful of spears in our veg bag each week for about a three to four week period. &nbsp;Each year I try to add a new recipe into my repertoire and this year I found a salad that I thought sounded good and it was, so I thought I would share it with you. &nbsp;It is based on a recipe I found in a book from the library, I have tweaked it slightly but if you would like to see the original it can be found&nbsp;<a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Superfoods-Flexible-Approach-Eating-More/dp/1849495823" target="_blank">here</a><br /><br /><b>Lentil and Couscous Salad with Almonds and Asparagus &nbsp;</b><br /><b><br /></b>100g Green Lentils (I always soak mine overnight)<br />360ml Water<br />200g Wholewheat Couscous<br />8 Asparagus Spears cut into approx 3cm sections<br />1 Small Red Onion, chopped fine<br />45g Capers<br />2 Large handfuls of salad leaves/watercress<br />40g Almonds thinly sliced<br /><br /><b>Vinaigrette</b><br />5 tbs olive oil<br />3 tbs apple cider vinegar<br /><br />Put the lentils and water in a saucepan and simmer until cooked, if you have soaked them overnight they will cook quicker. &nbsp;If needed, drain, then run under cold water and transfer to a large bowl.<br /><br />Cook the couscous by your preferred method, I always melt some butter and gently fry a crushed clove of garlic in the butter for a minute before adding the couscous and coating with the garlicky butter then add the water and simmer until cooked. &nbsp;Add the couscous to the lentils.<br /><br />&nbsp;Steam the asparagus until just tender, rinse under cold water, drain and add to the lentils and couscous.<br /><br />Add the red onion, capers, salad leaves and almonds. &nbsp;Whisk the vinaigrette ingredients together and drizzle over the salad mix together and serve.<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/sustainablemum/~4/bS8K3cBr6DY" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/sustainablemum/~3/bS8K3cBr6DY/in-my-kitchen.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (sustainablemum)30http://sustainable-mum.blogspot.com/2016/05/in-my-kitchen.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1151798681951781536.post-5080530797663981068Tue, 10 May 2016 23:00:00 +00002016-05-11T00:00:06.941+01:00daybookfamily lifehome educationDaybook<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-D12hVAja0DI/VzG-xxFZ4_I/AAAAAAAADUc/3wNx51veNZs08pSlPjG80L1CUyXOMyISgCLcB/s1600/IMG_1263.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="528" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-D12hVAja0DI/VzG-xxFZ4_I/AAAAAAAADUc/3wNx51veNZs08pSlPjG80L1CUyXOMyISgCLcB/s640/IMG_1263.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><b><span style="color: #666666;"><br /></span></b><b><span style="color: #666666;"><br /></span></b><b><span style="color: #666666;">Outside my window</span></b><b style="color: #666666;"> </b>are fluffy white clouds and patches of blue sky, the birds are flitting backwards and forwards to our bird feeders and the trees have suddenly burst with green and blossom in the last couple of days.<br /><br />Now that Spring has well and truly sprung<b style="color: #666666;"> I am thinking&nbsp;</b>about activities to do outside.<br /><br />Over this past week&nbsp;<b style="color: #666666;">I am thankful </b>(even more than I usually am)&nbsp;that we can home educate when all the school children of both Alice and Cameron's ages are undergoing tests.<br /><br /><b style="color: #666666;">In the kitchen </b>is the beginnings of a rice salad for dinner, an empty box that needs granola making to refill it, some pinto beans cooking for tea, the breakfast washing up in the sink and on the side, pumpkin seeds soaking in a bowl, milk cooling in a pan for yogurt and a musical instrument waiting to be repaired.<br /><br />It is Alice's birthday in just over two weeks and <b style="color: #666666;">I am creating </b>presents for her, party bags and contents.<br /><br />This evening at the end of a busy day, Tuesday are usually full days, <b style="color: #666666;">I am going </b>to Orchestra practice, even when I am tired I find this a great way to wind down.<br /><br /><b style="color: #666666;">I am reading</b>, planting seeds by Thich Nhat Hanh a book on practicing mindfulness with children. &nbsp;We visited a Buddhist monastery with a home ed group a few weeks ago and since then I have been meditating regularly with Cameron. &nbsp;I mentioned this to a friend and she has lend me three books written by a monk on mindfulness and meditation.<br /><br /><span style="color: #666666; font-weight: bold;">I am looking forward </span>to our Wednesday walk to find gorse shield bugs for our nature project.<br /><br /><b style="color: #666666;">Around the house </b>the children are drawing together at the table, books lie abandoned on chairs, the floor, tables and beds, lego bits are strewn in bedrooms a hazard for unshod feet, a pile of bits waits patiently to be moved up to the loft, two dice, two beanbags and a songbook on the living room floor the physical remains of learning with Alice and the windows are all open letting in the Spring air.<br /><br />The secret to having it all is believing your already do is <b style="color: #666666;">my favourite quote </b>at the moment as I go through the house decluttering.<br /><br /><b style="color: #666666;">I am learning </b>to go with the flow and not resist it.<br /><br /><b style="color: #666666;">I am wearing </b>blue linen trousers with ribbon sewn round the bottom of the legs, my own addition, a blue linen tunic top with a pale pink flower, green leaf and stem pattern and bare feet.<br /><br />As I sit and write <b style="color: #666666;">I am&nbsp;listening </b>to the quiet chatter of Alice and Cameron and the birds singing outside.<br /><br />A peek into my day.<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/sustainablemum/~4/ehP2EI_FMrY" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/sustainablemum/~3/ehP2EI_FMrY/daybook.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (sustainablemum)34http://sustainable-mum.blogspot.com/2016/05/daybook.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1151798681951781536.post-1625550760966411740Thu, 05 May 2016 17:08:00 +00002016-05-05T18:13:32.636+01:00family lifehome educationDrawing a Perspective<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-z9ZmUr-Gdug/VysfRPyqkgI/AAAAAAAADUM/YgqIxQBlCtA0iEjwzctas6e4TOaeNhClACLcB/s1600/IMG_1217.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-z9ZmUr-Gdug/VysfRPyqkgI/AAAAAAAADUM/YgqIxQBlCtA0iEjwzctas6e4TOaeNhClACLcB/s640/IMG_1217.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />I had intended to publish this post earlier in the week, my intentions and reality don't meet that often at the moment. &nbsp;There have been days lately when I have felt like I was in a room with no obvious way out and whilst I search for the door my panic levels rise, but inside me there is a small voice telling me all will be well. &nbsp;It is not lost on me that this time last year I <a href="http://sustainable-mum.blogspot.co.uk/2015/05/priorities.html" target="_blank">stopped blogging </a>for a while, I thought I was doing a better job at managing my busyness levels this Spring but I guess my report card would say 'could do better'.<br /><br />It is all too easy after the cold of Winter to want to be out and about all the time and saying yes to every invitations we are offered, forgetting the bigger picture whilst doing so. &nbsp; I write 'the cold of Winter' as if we are now in the throes of a warm Spring, but Winter is clinging on here as it seems to be in many places in the Northern Hemisphere, we had as much snow last week as we did in the Winter months. &nbsp;My busyness has frustrated my garden plans some what, but with hindsight this has been no bad thing, the few seeds I have sown have have yet to germinate, there is always next week. &nbsp;My leeks that overwintered and survived the deluge of Winter rain are growing well as is the purple sprouting broccoli and kale which are providing enough for the odd meal and smoothie.<br /><br />I am not much of a radio listener these days. &nbsp;The news, which is what I most often switch it on for, is rarely appropriate for small ears, I did however catch some snippets last week. &nbsp;There are a few days in my life when I can remember exactly where I was and what I was doing. &nbsp;One of those is the afternoon of 15 April 1989. &nbsp;It was a Saturday and I was at work and, like every Saturday, there was a steady stream of colleagues dropping by to catch the football scores on the radio that was always burbling away in the background. &nbsp;Most weeks it was drowned out by conversations, this was the staff canteen, that afternoon there was a hushed silence and no one moved, not even when someone came into the room. &nbsp;We lost two colleagues <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hillsborough_disaster" target="_blank">that day</a>&nbsp;one just sixteen years of age. &nbsp;For 27 years the fans were blamed for what happened, vilified by the press with lies fed to them by the police and politicians until last week when finally the truth has been uncovered. &nbsp;It is important to remember that the world was a different place in 1989 but even taking that into account lies are lies, and lies to protect your mistakes, your job and your profession cannot, ever, be condoned.<br /><br />I am also a sporadic listener of a <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006qpgr" target="_blank">radio soap</a> that is popular here in the UK. &nbsp;One of the current storylines is tackling domestic abuse and has made for difficult listening at times. &nbsp;I know how hidden this world can be as a friend of mine was brave enough to reach out to the authorities and only then did I find out what had been going on for years. &nbsp; This programme has sensitively bought this world into the public domain, donations to support charities have increased as has reporting of violence in the home. <br /><br />If Alice was a school she would be taking tests this month, every school child who is seven or will be by the end of August has to sit them. &nbsp;They are tests built round right/wrong answers, an input/output assessment, you would expect then that all the tests be factual? &nbsp;No. &nbsp;The English paper is based on grammar, punctuation and spelling. &nbsp;Some of the questions have several parts to them, all of which have to be right to gain a single mark, so even if the child has grasped the premise, one spelling mistake will mean no mark. &nbsp;I cannot think of any way to make a test more demoralising and pointless. &nbsp;My heart goes out to all those children and parents who are enduring this, it makes me immensely grateful that we are able to live on one income and home educate our children. &nbsp;This week Alice has, amongst many other things, been building a circus out of lego, attended a Steiner French group, had many books read to her, recapped her alphabet learning, visited a local Bird of Prey centre where she handled a hawk and played ludo with two dice.<br /><br />The busyness has meant less thinking time, thinking ahead is vital for our rhythm and I have been clinging on with finger tips with the minimal of thinking and planning, hoping that all will be well which it has, mostly. &nbsp;It has meant far less time online, &nbsp;I apologise if my visits to your blog have been sporadic but now you know why! &nbsp;I haven't managed to post here for nearly a week, I think for the next few weeks, maybe longer, I will be posting less often and my visits to blogs may continue to be sporadic for a while, I do hope you are ok with that. &nbsp; But, we are all happy and safe and that is the most important thing.<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/sustainablemum/~4/C5BuNw_moxQ" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/sustainablemum/~3/C5BuNw_moxQ/drawing-perspective.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (sustainablemum)28http://sustainable-mum.blogspot.com/2016/05/drawing-perspective.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1151798681951781536.post-4032098821282841965Thu, 28 Apr 2016 23:00:00 +00002016-04-29T14:37:41.855+01:00photo scavenger huntApril in Photos<div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;">It has been a month of contrasts. &nbsp;Quiet times, busy times. &nbsp;All seasons of weather, but most definitely April showers. &nbsp;We have soaked it all up and noticed:<b>&nbsp;</b></div><b><br /></b> <b>Orange</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Hnpy6HKftRA/VxdxUGsPCtI/AAAAAAAADR0/3cVgPNnryOo2FYBRiZ-_hhxEgMrDbSoLACKgB/s1600/IMG_0879.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Hnpy6HKftRA/VxdxUGsPCtI/AAAAAAAADR0/3cVgPNnryOo2FYBRiZ-_hhxEgMrDbSoLACKgB/s640/IMG_0879.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: center;">Lichen on a rock in a drystone wall. &nbsp;I haven't been able to identify it............</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Feather</b><br /><b><br /></b> <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-A_JIWKiaehA/VyIkrMhM4DI/AAAAAAAADTQ/SCIBRbKoVM4694ZdRiDCo3JYdk45fM5ngCLcB/s1600/IMG_1067.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-A_JIWKiaehA/VyIkrMhM4DI/AAAAAAAADTQ/SCIBRbKoVM4694ZdRiDCo3JYdk45fM5ngCLcB/s640/IMG_1067.jpg" width="426" /></a></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: center;">I have to admit I struggled with this category. &nbsp;We didn't find a single feather during the month, or something that resembled one. &nbsp;Taking photos of birds is really difficult and not something I am particularly good at. &nbsp;I then had the idea of taking some photos of our bird feeders when this little Robin came visiting. &nbsp;You would be forgiven for thinking, given my difficulty with this category, &nbsp;that I took this photo months ago and have sneaked it in here but I can assure you that this was taken yesterday afternoon (28 April)&nbsp;it snowed on and off all day!</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Something Fresh</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xqSfX-fhj60/VxdxIVV92gI/AAAAAAAADRo/-n6enWkbArwaHV8jkzJIdiQYu21JOdU7QCKgB/s1600/IMG_0884.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="464" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xqSfX-fhj60/VxdxIVV92gI/AAAAAAAADRo/-n6enWkbArwaHV8jkzJIdiQYu21JOdU7QCKgB/s640/IMG_0884.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: center;">...as a daisy, which have grown in their wonderful carpets this month. &nbsp;Did you know that Daisy's get their name from day's eye as they close their petals up at night and spread them during the day? &nbsp;Hence the expression as a fresh as a daisy, you have had a good sleep and are a full of energy just like the flower.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Horizon</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Ymonh1xFdgo/VxdxTl0v-0I/AAAAAAAADRw/SSENj5OO3N4Pr6juV-zpQhbrvK9-oTlxgCKgB/s1600/IMG_1015.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Ymonh1xFdgo/VxdxTl0v-0I/AAAAAAAADRw/SSENj5OO3N4Pr6juV-zpQhbrvK9-oTlxgCKgB/s640/IMG_1015.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">The view from the spot where our<b>&nbsp;</b>singing/nature group meets on a friend's farm. &nbsp;The hills in the distance are the view from my house (I live on the other side of them).</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Wet</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-F9V1lv0j9Mk/VxdxXWX-EVI/AAAAAAAADR8/_2e4Tt36aegHBgWPXGhhK0PCSZeLVSfAACKgB/s1600/IMG_0834.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-F9V1lv0j9Mk/VxdxXWX-EVI/AAAAAAAADR8/_2e4Tt36aegHBgWPXGhhK0PCSZeLVSfAACKgB/s640/IMG_0834.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">I could have used this for feather but it was much more about wet, a scrape at a bird reserve we visited for the day when my parents came for a visit. &nbsp;The Avocets were back for the summer and feeding in the water. &nbsp;They were one of 53 species we saw during our visit.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Craft</b><br /><b><br /></b> <a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-x37pY_NB7IQ/VyIubVxn9TI/AAAAAAAADTs/778JLT9PvF43T1_CzOj9k488he1O2Mu0QCLcB/s1600/IMG_1077.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="370" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-x37pY_NB7IQ/VyIubVxn9TI/AAAAAAAADTs/778JLT9PvF43T1_CzOj9k488he1O2Mu0QCLcB/s640/IMG_1077.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />You are probably wondering what on earth it is? &nbsp;A craft on two counts, a canoe shed built by my husband in our front garden. &nbsp;It is empty at the moment but will eventually house two <a href="http://sustainable-mum.blogspot.co.uk/2014/11/slow-living.html" target="_blank">open canoes</a>&nbsp;(scroll to bottom). &nbsp;We have a large garage/workshop at the back of our house, but with two open canoes, two sea kayaks and a general purpose kayak the garage bit was getting a little full (not to mention a chest freezer, seven bikes, scooters and all the gardening equipment) we have been doing some building work at the front our house and decided that part of the garden would make a good place to store some of our boats. &nbsp;It will have a green roof, we also have one on our&nbsp;<a href="http://sustainable-mum.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/garden.html" target="_blank">garage roof</a>&nbsp;(again scroll to the bottom), hence the slight tilt so that it can be viewed in all its, eventual, glory from the house.<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Growing</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rCLzjviuZyE/VxdxKDlKo5I/AAAAAAAADRs/xXVwHCZH1bASEgwVsnt3aDpBglNZsAjogCKgB/s1600/IMG_0893.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rCLzjviuZyE/VxdxKDlKo5I/AAAAAAAADRs/xXVwHCZH1bASEgwVsnt3aDpBglNZsAjogCKgB/s640/IMG_0893.JPG" width="426" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: center;">My garlic is shooting! &nbsp;I planted this in mid January, normally I plant in late October/ Early November but it was so wet then and for the rest of the year I decided to wait. &nbsp;I am not sure whether they would have survived the 9.3m of rain we had in November and December!</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Memories</b><br /><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-VJ8q-iiogvA/VyImwok9_XI/AAAAAAAADTc/6dKr_7ecGKInPUtzl7_NkvNGBMuk3tjQQCLcB/s1600/IMG_1033.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-VJ8q-iiogvA/VyImwok9_XI/AAAAAAAADTc/6dKr_7ecGKInPUtzl7_NkvNGBMuk3tjQQCLcB/s640/IMG_1033.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />April is the month when the wild garlic is ready for picking in my area and a huge carpet of them grows in one of our local woods. &nbsp; We lived in the village nearest this wood when we got married and would visit often for a short walk at the weekends. &nbsp;It was the place I took both of my children for the first big walk of their lives it took about six hours with lots of stops, now we can walk round in a couple. &nbsp;We have spent two years, one when Alice was a baby and last year visiting every month to observe the changes in nature. &nbsp;We always visit a this time of year to pick the wild garlic to make <a href="http://sustainable-mum.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/we-have-been-mainly.html" target="_blank">pesto</a>. &nbsp;It is one of my favourite places to take a walk and is close to where I live now.<br /><b><br /></b> <b>Sticks</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-f-jia7jFeSE/VxdxVf68F4I/AAAAAAAADR4/2SNM2MZzf2wzsv6wtgDq0X4878KuunHCwCKgB/s1600/IMG_0917.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-f-jia7jFeSE/VxdxVf68F4I/AAAAAAAADR4/2SNM2MZzf2wzsv6wtgDq0X4878KuunHCwCKgB/s640/IMG_0917.JPG" width="426" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: center;">A stick lady puppet made at our singing/nature group. &nbsp;She has a rather Barbiesque waist which was not intentional I can assure you, luckily my children don't know who Barbie is.<br /><br /><b>Flower (my&nbsp;choice of&nbsp;category)</b><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PUxgEIrvPbU/VyI1rC_x0OI/AAAAAAAADT8/zX1Q9uT_yqkqn17Fp0P0d_mzoq-UUe5qACLcB/s1600/IMG_1041.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PUxgEIrvPbU/VyI1rC_x0OI/AAAAAAAADT8/zX1Q9uT_yqkqn17Fp0P0d_mzoq-UUe5qACLcB/s640/IMG_1041.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />A beautiful camellia flower from a small tree, covered in these wonderful blooms, in the grounds of a the buddhist temple we visited with our home ed friends. &nbsp; I will hasten to add we didn't pick it, we found it on the ground next to the plant.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">Joining in with the <a href="http://livelovecraftme.blogspot.co.uk/2016/04/scavenger-photo-challenge-april.html" target="_blank">Photo Scavenger Hunt</a>hosted by&nbsp;<a href="http://livelovecraftme.blogspot.co.uk/" target="_blank">Hawthorn Spellweaver</a>. &nbsp;I have really enjoyed this challenge. &nbsp;I have seen photo scavenger hunts on other blogs but the categories didn't pull me in to take part, but this one did. &nbsp;I loved that all these categories were a catalogue of our daily lives and I wasn't take pictures for pictures sake if you get what I mean? &nbsp; I am looking forward to seeing the categories for next month.......</div></div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/sustainablemum/~4/awSs-fL336c" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/sustainablemum/~3/awSs-fL336c/april-in-photos.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (sustainablemum)46http://sustainable-mum.blogspot.com/2016/04/april-in-photos.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1151798681951781536.post-7300476061071793862Sat, 23 Apr 2016 23:00:00 +00002016-04-28T17:31:31.492+01:00Butter SkinknittingTa Dah!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RFPxxYQDkiU/VxKPFydytaI/AAAAAAAADRE/2NE4ijEO-R8DEx0TuGLpVmVyl2i3moD9ACKgB/s1600/IMG_0980.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RFPxxYQDkiU/VxKPFydytaI/AAAAAAAADRE/2NE4ijEO-R8DEx0TuGLpVmVyl2i3moD9ACKgB/s640/IMG_0980.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XupqQ2Cl8xo/VxKPLGwOp2I/AAAAAAAADRI/FmPM_Of7AB44xGHcAsV_yp7hyospuLoCwCKgB/s1600/IMG_0983.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XupqQ2Cl8xo/VxKPLGwOp2I/AAAAAAAADRI/FmPM_Of7AB44xGHcAsV_yp7hyospuLoCwCKgB/s640/IMG_0983.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IesUKYB4e2I/VxKO85R4wzI/AAAAAAAADRA/97tmMUxa2d8yOXHUPHWuTywNBr0vHLWUQCKgB/s1600/IMG_0959.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="342" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IesUKYB4e2I/VxKO85R4wzI/AAAAAAAADRA/97tmMUxa2d8yOXHUPHWuTywNBr0vHLWUQCKgB/s640/IMG_0959.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-YvZW9cy8ozY/VxKO3365sRI/AAAAAAAADQ8/unoz-XZXnREvseXIspLseS0Prrd4c1zHACKgB/s1600/IMG_0951.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-YvZW9cy8ozY/VxKO3365sRI/AAAAAAAADQ8/unoz-XZXnREvseXIspLseS0Prrd4c1zHACKgB/s640/IMG_0951.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />It's a long time since I finished off a big knitting project and posted about it. &nbsp;<a href="http://sustainable-mum.blogspot.co.uk/2015/01/adapting.html" target="_blank">Over a year ago</a>, in fact. I finished off several projects for Alice last summer but as I was on a blogging pause they passed by without notice.<br /><br />After my&nbsp;<a href="http://sustainable-mum.blogspot.co.uk/2016/01/displacement-activity.html" target="_blank">knitting failure</a>&nbsp;on my last cardigan, I decided on a jumper to knit whilst I pondered the future of my lovely blue yarn*. &nbsp;I have mentioned before that I have no idea how this pattern made its way into my favourites but I have been wanting to knit it for some time but there was always another project ahead of it in the queue.<br /><br />It was a great knit. &nbsp;Those endless rows on the body made so much quicker because there was just enough interest in the pattern to make it feel like it was going faster. &nbsp;I had real difficulty when I came to join the front and back under the arm (it is knit top down) there was a basic chart provided for front and back but it didn't show how to bring the two sections together. &nbsp;After two failed attempts I decided I needed to write out a chart and bingo it all came together. &nbsp;This is a free pattern so this is not a criticism at all, I immensely grateful for all knitters who share their patterns for no financial gain to themselves.<br /><br />So there we have it. &nbsp;My first big knit of 2016. &nbsp;Here's to many more!<br /><br />Ravelry notes <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/sustainablemum/butter-skin" target="_blank">Here</a><br />Joining&nbsp;<a href="http://frontierdreams.blogspot.co.uk/2016/04/keep-calm-craft-on-crafting-on_26.html" target="_blank">Nicole</a><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">::::::::::::::::::::</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>*in the end I ripped the whole body out and have cast on another sweater, I am knitting from the bottom up, and will join the arms in which I haven't ripped out!<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/sustainablemum/~4/8l-M8fqBi60" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/sustainablemum/~3/8l-M8fqBi60/ta-dah.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (sustainablemum)44http://sustainable-mum.blogspot.com/2016/04/ta-dah.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1151798681951781536.post-7465212003468070128Wed, 20 Apr 2016 21:02:00 +00002016-05-18T21:18:34.133+01:00apricot and chickpea saladIn my Kitchensourdough troubleshootingIn My Kitchen <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-h3UEome2Az8/Vxfg3iprR4I/AAAAAAAADSc/c_mNlpuJUQUfO7xfu_Igwc1QiS7yurfEQCKgB/s1600/IMG_0937.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-h3UEome2Az8/Vxfg3iprR4I/AAAAAAAADSc/c_mNlpuJUQUfO7xfu_Igwc1QiS7yurfEQCKgB/s640/IMG_0937.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />I love to cook, good food is really important to me. &nbsp;If you are anything like me you spend a large amount of your life in the kitchen preparing good nourishing food to eat, so this is what has been going on in my kitchen this month. &nbsp;If you would like to join in you would be most welcome, leave a link in the comments section.<br /><br />I mentioned in my last <a href="http://sustainable-mum.blogspot.co.uk/2016/03/in-my-kitchen.html" target="_blank">in my kitchen post</a> that I had been making toothpaste and deodorant and many of you asked me to share my recipes, which I did in <a href="http://sustainable-mum.blogspot.co.uk/2016/04/almost-edible-spring-cleaning.html" target="_blank">my last post</a> along with many other cleaning products I make. Thank you to all who commented and shared your own cleaning 'recipes'. I didn't mention why I make my own, aside from the fact that it fits neatly into my efforts to live sustainably, I do so out of necessity. About four years ago I started experiencing hives like symptoms on my hands over the course of the year it got worse and worse as I couldn't work out what was causing it. It was when I started to wake up with a swollen face and eyes swollen shut that I realised it might have something to do with the cleaning products I was using. So a new journey started into making my own, I haven't dared buy them again I really don't want to repeat that awful experience.<br /><br />It has been all about baking in my kitchen this month. &nbsp;There has been lots of salad making too, old familiar recipes and a few new ones too, but it is the baking that will be the content of this post.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yfE_IsKyCK8/VxdswP0bExI/AAAAAAAADRc/O-ng2eSXRT8VhMXw663cFO382YxAZMVsACLcB/s1600/IMG_0765.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yfE_IsKyCK8/VxdswP0bExI/AAAAAAAADRc/O-ng2eSXRT8VhMXw663cFO382YxAZMVsACLcB/s640/IMG_0765.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />I have made Hot Cross Buns for Good Friday for a few years now using the recipe from Nigella Lawson's Feast cookbook. &nbsp;I have been wanting to make other types of bread with my sourdough starters and thought that Hot Cross Buns would be a good place to start. &nbsp;They turned out really well and didn't last that long. &nbsp;They were definitely from the slow cooking avenue of baking, the recipe started twenty four hours before baking day. &nbsp;They only needed a little attention each time, I do like that kind of baking fitting it in around other jobs be done. &nbsp;You can find the recipe <a href="http://www.virtuousbread.com/bread-and-conversation/the-world-premiere-of-the-sourdough-hot-cross-bun-at-the-clink/" target="_blank">here</a>. &nbsp;I haven't tried making anything else but writing this has reminded me that I want to, if you have any suggestions or good recipes I would love to hear about them.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LyMaKENPhZo/VxdsvuPzclI/AAAAAAAADRg/Sedp_lemNqQiwTaqem2jvwXV2MrxPgEdwCKgB/s1600/IMG_0759.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LyMaKENPhZo/VxdsvuPzclI/AAAAAAAADRg/Sedp_lemNqQiwTaqem2jvwXV2MrxPgEdwCKgB/s640/IMG_0759.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />As part of our Spring and Easter project/traditions we observed Purim and we made these Haman's Purses for tea, a traditional dish to eat for this Jewish Festival. &nbsp;You can fill them with any filling you like, ours were made from dried apricots soak over night and then pureed in a blender they were delicious! &nbsp;I also made a stew using <a href="http://calendarcustoms.com/articles/carlin-sunday/" target="_blank">Carlin Peas</a> which are a North of England speciality at this time of year, I had never heard of these peas before but they were selling them in my local health food shop just before Easter so I just had to give them a try. &nbsp;They are also eaten around Bonfire Night in November.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qfoXi13r8JY/Vxfg316ZCpI/AAAAAAAADSc/TiQiseJe_9YVJryfFzS8it3SuH404fjTQCKgB/s1600/IMG_0935.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qfoXi13r8JY/Vxfg316ZCpI/AAAAAAAADSc/TiQiseJe_9YVJryfFzS8it3SuH404fjTQCKgB/s640/IMG_0935.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mf1NA4VYpxI/Vxfg69S0-HI/AAAAAAAADSc/2-lFFCxMhwEnpCzOhqntmWJndcbHBY01gCKgB/s1600/IMG_1025.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mf1NA4VYpxI/Vxfg69S0-HI/AAAAAAAADSc/2-lFFCxMhwEnpCzOhqntmWJndcbHBY01gCKgB/s640/IMG_1025.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />I stopped eating anything with refined sugar in about six months ago it wasn't particularly difficult as I don't really have a sweet tooth. &nbsp;I realised quite by chance that it was giving me stomach ache. &nbsp;I stopped eating it for a few weeks, then started again, and repeated a couple of times as I wanted to be sure it was that, and not something else, before I stopped eating it completely. &nbsp;As I have Crohn's Disease, which I manage through my diet, I kept a food diary too I didn't want to exclude yet another ingredient without being sure. &nbsp;I have been experimenting with other sweeteners in baking to see if they cause a problem too, but so far so good. &nbsp;I have made two cakes sweetened with honey (the recipes call for maple syrup which is incredibly expensive in the UK so I have been using honey instead) and apple puree. &nbsp;It makes a tasty moist cake and is really easy to make, definitely my kind of recipe. &nbsp;If you want to give them a go you can find the recipe <a href="https://livelearnloveeat.com/2011/05/17/confessions-of-a-baking-addict/" target="_blank">here</a>, and thank you to <a href="http://www.motheringwithmindfulness.com/" target="_blank">this</a>&nbsp;lovely blogger for putting me onto the recipe. <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ij3ZGOigwLo/VxfsPLLmg_I/AAAAAAAADTA/D_RFeRuTdMwmsmC3JNmrCJgREUtpfK46ACLcB/s1600/SpongeCollage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="355" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ij3ZGOigwLo/VxfsPLLmg_I/AAAAAAAADTA/D_RFeRuTdMwmsmC3JNmrCJgREUtpfK46ACLcB/s640/SpongeCollage.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GFkWxQqbc_A/VxfrtiTjUHI/AAAAAAAADS4/wldPOfr9U403-LzdwtNGmEvmcFhtZkLPwCLcB/s1600/Sourdoughcollage2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="358" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GFkWxQqbc_A/VxfrtiTjUHI/AAAAAAAADS4/wldPOfr9U403-LzdwtNGmEvmcFhtZkLPwCLcB/s640/Sourdoughcollage2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />I made my sourdough starters some months ago now. We don't eat a lot of bread, but I make it most weeks and have got a good rhythm going. Every Friday morning I get the starters out of the fridge (I have one rye and one spelt) where I store them in glass jars. I leave them to stand for day to warm up to room temperature. If you need to make bread more often you could probably just leave your starter on the side all the time it I haven't tried that so don't know if it will work. What I have found with making sourdough bread is that you need to find what works for the flour you are using and your climate, recipes are a good starting point but bear in mind where the author lives! There is a huge amounts of advice out there some of which will work for you and some won't, but even when it doesn't work it is never, usually, a complete disaster. So having warmed up my starters, in the evening I make the sponges combining the starters with flour and water which I leave to stand, covered, overnight. The more you make bread, the more wild yeasts you will have floating around, the more you sponge will bubble, mine looks good now but it hardly bubbled in the beginning. On the week I took these pictures the rye sponge (on the left) was more lively than the spelt, some weeks it is the other way round. In the morning I remove some of the sponge into back into my jars to become the next starter, the rest is mixed with more flour to make the actual loaves. The rye does not need any kneading as it makes a wet dough that you slop into an oiled tin to rise. The spelt I knead for a short while, if you knead it for too long it makes for a very dense chewy loaf, so until it is smooth will do. I leave it to rest for around fifteen minutes before dividing into two loaves and placing on a floured baking tray to rise. The flour stops the loaves sticking to the tray. How long I leave it depends on the temperature. The warmer the place the less time you need, a maximum of three hours if it is cool, again this is something that is best worked out for your own house. If the loaf is starting to flatten slightly it is ready for the oven! I freeze these loaves and always have a good supply in the freezer ready for those occasional weekends when I am too busy to fit in making any bread.<br /><br />We have been enjoying a new to us salad recipe this month. &nbsp;It has many ingredients and takes time to put it all together, but I know that the more I make it the quicker I will get. &nbsp;It is really tasty so it is worth it!<br /><br /><b>Apricot and Chick Pea Salad</b><br /><br />200g bulgar wheat<br />150g cooked chickpeas*<br />50g sprouted mixed pulses<br />50g dried apricots soak overnight and chopped<br />25g toasted flaked almonds<br />2 tbsp chopped parsley<br />2 tbsp olive oil<br />1 onion, finely chopped<br />1 tsp crushed dried chillies<br />1 1/2 tsp ground cumin<br />pinch cinnamon<br />pinch ground cloves<br />to taste salt &amp; pepper<br /><br />Pour boiling water over the bulgar wheat and leave to stand for 30 minutes then drain. Fluff the grains up with a fork.<br />Mix together the bulgar, chickpeas, sprouted pulses, apricots, almonds and parsley in a bowl.<br />To make the dressing, heat the oil in a pan, fry onion until soft. Add spices, cook for 2 minutes, season and stir into the salad immediately.<br /><br />*if you are using dried chickpeas this equates to approximately 75g.<br /><br />Based on a recipe from the Vegetarian Society Website.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/sustainablemum/~4/DU6c3YldyiI" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/sustainablemum/~3/DU6c3YldyiI/in-my-kitchen.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (sustainablemum)20http://sustainable-mum.blogspot.com/2016/04/in-my-kitchen.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1151798681951781536.post-5515683294510290487Fri, 15 Apr 2016 23:00:00 +00002016-04-16T00:00:08.529+01:00home made fabric conditionerhomemade deodoranthomemade dishwasher powderhomemade mildew removerhomemade oven cleanerhomemade toothpaste recipehomemade washing powdernatural home[Almost] Edible Spring Cleaning<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DzjiCu0-xBs/VxFJhmFel5I/AAAAAAAADQs/UwKnIQA-iKELWhWr4Q9AAhY9wX9r2RVYACLcB/s1600/IMG_0826.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DzjiCu0-xBs/VxFJhmFel5I/AAAAAAAADQs/UwKnIQA-iKELWhWr4Q9AAhY9wX9r2RVYACLcB/s400/IMG_0826.JPG" width="266" /></a></div><br /><br />There is something about the Spring that makes you want to clean and declutter. &nbsp;After months of cool temperatures it feels wonderful to be able to throw open the windows on a sunny day. &nbsp;The sunlight has the added disadvantage of showing how much dust is swilling around as it glistens in its rays, doing a merry dance. &nbsp;I am the first to admit that I am not a huge fan of housework, I do the minimum I need each week. &nbsp;I am reading a fascinating book at the moment, it is not about cleaning but it does mention our obsession to clean and in doing so we are ridding the world of good and bad bacteria and worryingly in the case of the good ones possible forever. &nbsp;A bit of dirt is no bad thing it would seem, I am also doing my bit for the preservation of good bacteria.<br /><br />I mostly* always use my own homemade products when I clean. &nbsp;The cleaning product aisles in the supermarket are not ones I ever venture down. &nbsp;When I inadvertently do, on the way to the checkout, the smell of chemicals is really strong and totally overpowering. &nbsp;A&nbsp;<a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/58KFJzpJb2kyLtDPhhHqnbQ/are-perfumed-products-bad-for-me" target="_blank">recent study</a>&nbsp;highlighted that whilst they might clean our homes the fragrance chemicals in these products react with the air effecting air quality in our homes, if you also use scented candles and air freshness you could be creating an interesting, and not terribly good for you, soup.<br /><br />The two ingredients I use the most are ones that you might find in your food stores. &nbsp;Bicarb [baking soda] and white vinegar, I use enough of each to justify buying it in bulk as the shops tend to only sell small quantities. &nbsp;I use the bicarb to clean all surfaces, floors and the bathroom suite either sprinkling it neat and rubbing it in with a damp cloth or dissolving in water and using the solution which is what I do to clean the tiled and wooden floors. &nbsp;A 50:50 mix with borax is my washing and dishwater powder. &nbsp;I inherited a carpet in my bathroom which can get a little smelly at times, but <a href="http://sustainable-mum.blogspot.co.uk/2015/01/slow-living.html" target="_blank">this</a>&nbsp;carpet deodoriser is perfect for removing the smell. &nbsp;You may wonder why we don't just get rid of the carpet but the floorboards underneath are not a suitable flooring either, the bathroom will eventually need an overhaul so there is no point replacing the flooring only to rip it out again when we come to replace everything.<br /><br />My oven doesn't get a clean inside very often, we eat very little meat so I can get away with it. &nbsp;But when it does get a clean I make this:<br /><br /><b>Oven Cleaner </b>mix 1/4 cup salt, 3/4 bicarb and a 1/2 cup of water and mix into a paste, apply into a warm and oven and let it sit for a least an hour or overnight and wipe clean.<br /><br />I not only clean the house with bicarb, I also use it to make.....<br /><b><br /></b> <b>Deodorant &nbsp;</b>1/4 cup deodorant, 1/4 arrowroot, 2tbsp coconut oil (you can also add drops of essential oil if you wish) melt the coconut oil and mix. &nbsp;I use an old deodorant stick and keep refilling it, you might need to store this in the fridge in summer if your house gets warm.<br /><br />I mentioned white vinegar earlier, this is great for cleaning glass you can spray it on neat or dilute with a little water, wipe off with some old newspaper. &nbsp;It gets used neat as a fabric conditioner , 2 tbsp with a few drops of essential oil. &nbsp;I use lavender which seems to be doing a great job of keeping the moths out of our house, that is not to say we were ever infested with them but I rarely see them in my house these days. &nbsp;I also use it neat to clean the loo. &nbsp; If you have mildew then mix 50:50 with salt to make a paste and wipe onto effected area. &nbsp;I have read recently that you can use it as a weed killer anyone ever tried this? &nbsp;I am not sure what effect it would have on the soil or on other plants growing near by, I will be doing a little more research before trying that one out I think.<br /><br />You have probably had enough now, so I will leave you with one last recipe. &nbsp;I mentioned recently that I make my own toothpaste, here is my recipe for that:<br /><br /><b>Toothpaste </b>4tbs&nbsp;coconut oil, 4tbs fullers earth&nbsp;/bentonite clay, 1/2 tsp fine sea salt, 10 - 15 drops food grade peppermint oil. &nbsp;Mix together, add a little water if necessary to gain the consistency you like. <br /><br />What cleaning products do you make? <br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">&nbsp; :::::::::::::::</div><br />* I buy soap and washing up liquid<br /><br />I will be back on the 20th (Wednesday) with this months <a href="http://sustainable-mum.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/In%20my%20Kitchen" target="_blank">In My Kitchen</a> if you wish to join me.<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/sustainablemum/~4/Tmw8sQuQtJA" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/sustainablemum/~3/Tmw8sQuQtJA/almost-edible-spring-cleaning.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (sustainablemum)31http://sustainable-mum.blogspot.com/2016/04/almost-edible-spring-cleaning.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1151798681951781536.post-5110490156762541811Mon, 11 Apr 2016 23:00:00 +00002016-04-12T17:08:46.126+01:00sewingA reusable game<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nPpaPXFZKnE/Vwv-r-nsaFI/AAAAAAAADQU/4ZLMBpWmHzgf585ZArAgHEvv5Tr7dnTsQ/s1600/IMG_0752.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nPpaPXFZKnE/Vwv-r-nsaFI/AAAAAAAADQU/4ZLMBpWmHzgf585ZArAgHEvv5Tr7dnTsQ/s640/IMG_0752.JPG" width="426" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KP6FS0ar58o/Vwv-dE8whuI/AAAAAAAADQQ/MF2m-SAFGiA-9UL98u2ZMxQ9trOL4HXQw/s1600/IMG_0748.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="440" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KP6FS0ar58o/Vwv-dE8whuI/AAAAAAAADQQ/MF2m-SAFGiA-9UL98u2ZMxQ9trOL4HXQw/s640/IMG_0748.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-V-G1UiJw8W8/Vwv-a85vzoI/AAAAAAAADQM/-8ixFk9Ja8wtb5WShDLoElnKO9cbimtHw/s1600/IMG_0751.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-V-G1UiJw8W8/Vwv-a85vzoI/AAAAAAAADQM/-8ixFk9Ja8wtb5WShDLoElnKO9cbimtHw/s640/IMG_0751.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-r19dy6xAk-0/Vwv-6ivFvKI/AAAAAAAADQY/h1bjJo5o1vQ4vDnAVeSsnYG3Uch5uurlg/s1600/IMG_0757.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="438" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-r19dy6xAk-0/Vwv-6ivFvKI/AAAAAAAADQY/h1bjJo5o1vQ4vDnAVeSsnYG3Uch5uurlg/s640/IMG_0757.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />I have a love hate relationship with Pinterest, well maybe hate it too strong a word but I don't love it as much as some. &nbsp;<a href="https://www.pinterest.com/siobhanbeck/" target="_blank">My boards</a> are minimalist, I think Marie Kondo would approve have you read <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Life-Changing-Magic-Tidying-effective/dp/0091955106" target="_blank">her book</a>? &nbsp;I picked up a copy at my local library, I didn't realise what it was until I got it home and started reading it. &nbsp;I had to laugh at some of what she wrote (a lot of it is very wise advice) about only keeping the things that bring you joy, &nbsp;I know that if I asked Alice that about some of the items in her room she would give me a now thats a stupid question look. &nbsp;I note she had a baby last year, perhaps she will change her tune a little on that one, in relation to children and their possessions, in the years to come. &nbsp;But back to Pinterest, it is now so popular that often when I am searching online the top of the search is dominated by it, but clicking on the link takes you to an entire board rather than exactly what I am looking for. &nbsp;Of course those boards will always be popular ones, but I don't really want to wade through all the pins* to find the relevant one, the links are so often dead so are of no help to me. &nbsp;Please tell me I am not the only one frustrated by this?<br /><br />I get how it works and see its use but it doesn't work for me, I prefer to bookmark, it makes you keep things minimal otherwise you cannot find anything when you need it or I just use the little grey cells, as Poirot would say. &nbsp;A long time ago I read a blog post about a game that I thought was such a good idea that I stored in my memory as something to make one day. &nbsp;I needed the right child to gift it to, and this year I do. &nbsp;This one was made for a birthday in March and another will be made for June. &nbsp;Cameron has requested one too.<br /><br />It is an amazingly simple idea, based on a very old game much loved by children the world over. &nbsp;A small bag with some ribbon sewn on the front, a few pieces of marked wood, the play is endless and portable, you will never run out of space on the paper or lead in the pencil. &nbsp;I made this entirely from materials I already had, the bag is made from an old work t-shirt of my husbands which had hardly been worn but a change of business name rendered it no longer suitable, lined with a piece of cotton that I buy in sales when I see it (plain cotton which is always useful to have in a fabric stash). &nbsp;I love ribbon, it is one of the few things that I buy just because I like it, it rarely stays in my drawers for long I always find a use for it, or Alice takes it to use for 'something' as she so charmingly puts it. &nbsp;This one was a perfect match for the fabric. &nbsp;The counters were made from the end of a length of dowl that my husband had in the garage, cut into thin slices, sanded, marked and coated in a little wax.<br /><br />Sometimes the simple things are the best.<br /><br />Joining <a href="http://frontierdreams.blogspot.co.uk/2016/04/keep-calm-craft-on-crafting-on_12.html#idc-container" target="_blank">Nicole</a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>*One board I clicked through to recently had over 750 pins!<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/sustainablemum/~4/xluLP-sf9yM" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/sustainablemum/~3/xluLP-sf9yM/a-reusable-game.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (sustainablemum)53http://sustainable-mum.blogspot.com/2016/04/a-reusable-game.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1151798681951781536.post-2456456632374590160Thu, 07 Apr 2016 23:00:00 +00002016-04-08T00:00:13.734+01:00home educationWeather and Gardening<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-glLrKiK3Eh0/Vv1fcdMWIuI/AAAAAAAADPE/3nS9n-nOolM_b646HlYiRnd5Q5AQx967g/s1600/IMG_0768.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-glLrKiK3Eh0/Vv1fcdMWIuI/AAAAAAAADPE/3nS9n-nOolM_b646HlYiRnd5Q5AQx967g/s640/IMG_0768.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-eURJHYUJIpY/Vv1fbJhUu1I/AAAAAAAADPA/6IwdPY0fBo05gC34y-NVtBYedHWnwjblQ/s1600/IMG_0779.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-eURJHYUJIpY/Vv1fbJhUu1I/AAAAAAAADPA/6IwdPY0fBo05gC34y-NVtBYedHWnwjblQ/s640/IMG_0779.jpg" width="490" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VV_fiX9xiUY/Vv1fXrw4kEI/AAAAAAAADO8/UCtIv5Fq30gGkQyUxurshGt854XFidg8g/s1600/IMG_0780.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VV_fiX9xiUY/Vv1fXrw4kEI/AAAAAAAADO8/UCtIv5Fq30gGkQyUxurshGt854XFidg8g/s640/IMG_0780.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7gKzP7NGpZc/Vv1fd2sPjnI/AAAAAAAADPI/n_5DMd72RRUdONF4pXJD5943VxiaOQ_Iw/s1600/IMG_0831.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7gKzP7NGpZc/Vv1fd2sPjnI/AAAAAAAADPI/n_5DMd72RRUdONF4pXJD5943VxiaOQ_Iw/s640/IMG_0831.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CNAOLaTXpCU/Vv1fVrg9rcI/AAAAAAAADO4/jKB-4BlQnyQxJ5nKmM7lvRGP6w5A89lwQ/s1600/IMG_0782.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CNAOLaTXpCU/Vv1fVrg9rcI/AAAAAAAADO4/jKB-4BlQnyQxJ5nKmM7lvRGP6w5A89lwQ/s640/IMG_0782.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />Back in <a href="http://sustainable-mum.blogspot.co.uk/2015/11/a-window-into-day.html" target="_blank">November</a> I made a note of everything we did in a day. I love using this blog as a record, looking back at old posts to remember those moments that are small and seemingly insignificant but nonetheless special in their own right. Last week I did it again.<br /><br />On this particular day I was first to wake, that is not always the case, sometimes Cameron is up long before me and has had his breakfast and is sitting doing something when I come downstairs. I do like my mornings when I am up first it helps me get the day going although, because I know that this is not always the case, I usually organise myself the night before. &nbsp;I like to spend that time tidying, putting the washing on and making myself a pot of tea. &nbsp;I potter without distractions making myself ready for when the children come down. &nbsp;Alice appeared first with an armful of soft toys, <a href="http://sustainable-mum.blogspot.co.uk/2015/12/re-evaluating-with-strawberry-brown.html" target="_blank">some</a> of which go everywhere with her. &nbsp;Whilst I cooked the <a href="http://sustainable-mum.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/eating_8.html" target="_blank">pancakes</a>&nbsp;we have for breakfast she played with a playmobil figure she has named Emily, she too was cooking pancakes in her kitchen. &nbsp;Whilst we were eating them we talked about Penguins and do they only lay one egg and why, the sound the washing machine was making, which to her was like being on a train, and whether I had seen her on the hanging bar at gymnastics she had been too tall to hang from it! &nbsp;At some point Cameron came down and got himself his breakfast and joined us at the table. &nbsp;We talked about our plans for the day and what time we were going to do what, this conversation was interrupted by a phone call from one of Cameron's friends in the village it was somewhat fortuitous as he was asking if Cameron wanted to go out for a walk in the afternoon, we adapted our plans accordingly.<br /><br />Cameron always likes to spend an hour on the computer after his breakfast, I have tried hard to change this but I have had to make peace with the fact that that is the way our days look at the moment. &nbsp;Alice is much more of a take it or leave it with screens, on this particular morning she also spend time on our tablet at the same time, but that was the only morning in that week that she did. &nbsp;Whilst they were busy I hung the washing outside, watered the new herb plants I recently bought and sewed the finally seam on a <a href="http://sustainable-mum.blogspot.co.uk/2016/03/bags-of-busyness.html" target="_blank">present</a>. <br /><br />After half an hour Alice was ready for something else. &nbsp;We played a game of dominoes with a set of cards that I made years ago for Cameron. They are used to play a whole set of games, dominoes being one of them, to provide experience of mathematical relations, likeness and difference. &nbsp;When Cameron's time was up we had a game of ludo with two dice, multiplying the two numbers thrown to give the amount to move your counter this has been a great way to learn the tables up to six, I have ordered some ten sided dice to help with learning the rest.<br /><br />We have never observed or celebrated at Easter in our house, &nbsp;now that I have the framework of an Advent project I wanted to do the same for Easter. &nbsp;In the weeks leading up to Lent I spent time drawing together stories, books, craft ideas, poems and songs, as Easter coincided with the dawning of Spring this year some of what I chose fitted with that too. &nbsp;On this particular day we read&nbsp;<a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Angel-Dove-Story-Easter/dp/0745961231" target="_blank">The Angel and the Dove</a>&nbsp;and sang two songs from <a href="http://www.wynstonespress.com/Website/pages/Books/Kindergarten_books.htm" target="_blank">Spring</a>.<br /><br />Last year we spent time doing projects together this worked well for most of the year, as the year drew on I realised that their needs were changing and they would benefit more from working on their own individual projects. &nbsp;They both wanted to work towards Scouting badges for their first project of the year. &nbsp;Cameron has been learning about the weather and Alice, gardening. &nbsp;On this particular morning Cameron read about synoptic charts and drew one for his lap book, whilst Alice drew a tree depicting the changes of the seasons. &nbsp;Whilst they were both hard at work I sat writing too. &nbsp;I am enjoying this time we have a few mornings a week, I can write letters and blog posts both things that I have struggled to find the time for in the past. &nbsp;I think it is important that I model this behaviour in front of them, showing them that the hard work they put in now will have a use later in life.<br /><br />It may sound like it was a morning full of hard work but it ended with some play time whilst I got dinner ready. &nbsp;Keepy uppy with a balloon and an elaborate game with toy cars that started yesterday. &nbsp;Whilst we ate lunch we listened to Mali a <a href="http://www.putumayo.com/" target="_blank">Putumayo CD</a>&nbsp;which doesn't seem to be available anymore. &nbsp;To bring our meal and the morning to a close we read a story from&nbsp;<a href="http://www.florisbooks.co.uk/book/Ineke-Verschuren/Easter+Story+Book/9780863151460" target="_blank">this</a>&nbsp;book and a poem from&nbsp;<a href="http://www.wynstonespress.com/Website/pages/Books/Kindergarten_books.htm" target="_blank">Spring</a>.<br /><br />Cameron went off for the afternoon with this friend. &nbsp;They were taking a walk round the village to find suitable sites for filming. &nbsp;He and his friend have spent some time over the past few weeks writing a script together, a Roman and Celt based story. &nbsp; Alice and I decided to make some Flower Fairies together she made a daisy and I a Violet, I am not convinced mine came out that well but it is very sweet all the same. &nbsp; We put them both on our seasonal table along with the crocus fairy that she made a few months ago. &nbsp;We store all our seasonal table bits in a couple of shoe boxes which are getting very full, Alice went through them both and found a lot peg people that shouldn't have been in there. &nbsp;She had great fun playing with them all and has continued to for the rest of the week. &nbsp;We sat and read a chapter book together on the sofa by which time Cameron had returned from a successful walk. &nbsp;They played more car games, playmobil and lego whilst I cooked tea.<br /><br />Having eaten and cleared up, we spent the evening watching a programme from <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p03l23gr" target="_blank">this</a> series. &nbsp;Programmes like this always make me wish that I was born into that world. &nbsp;The day closed with a chapter from our current&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Why_the_Whales_Came" target="_blank">bedtime book</a>&nbsp;and some <a href="http://www.carolinewallace.co.uk/" target="_blank">reading</a> for me, a marvellous book that kept me up late for a few nights!<br /><br />It is interesting to look back over the <a href="http://sustainable-mum.blogspot.co.uk/2015/11/a-window-into-day.html" target="_blank">previous</a>&nbsp;posts to note the changes. &nbsp;The biggest is that I am doing more and more preparation. &nbsp;This comes in fits and bursts at the moment, a setting up period which requires a lot of time followed by my weekly planning to fit all that preparation into our rhythm. &nbsp;Cameron is nearing the end of his weather project and wants to learn more about our village next. &nbsp;Alice is really keen to learn to read, she has expressed an interest before but the methods I have used in the past have not been right for her. &nbsp;She learns very differently to Cameron so I have to rewrite everything I have used for him. &nbsp;She is nearly seven and I feel she is ready to learn her letters now, but if she isn't then I hope that what I have spent time putting together will be right for her some day. &nbsp;I will be back in six months time, I wonder what we will be doing then?<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/sustainablemum/~4/eVyPtfGFzf4" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/sustainablemum/~3/eVyPtfGFzf4/weather-and-gardening.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (sustainablemum)26http://sustainable-mum.blogspot.com/2016/04/weather-and-gardening.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1151798681951781536.post-9120274390306452022Mon, 04 Apr 2016 23:00:00 +00002016-04-05T00:00:16.605+01:00family lifeThe Daffodils<div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; color: #414850; font-family: verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; padding: 10px 0px;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SbBmnUdCO3U/VwLDMgVKsiI/AAAAAAAADPc/eja36s-qgmYhvaRF_UjNfDFx7KJHmM6tg/s1600/IMG_0842.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SbBmnUdCO3U/VwLDMgVKsiI/AAAAAAAADPc/eja36s-qgmYhvaRF_UjNfDFx7KJHmM6tg/s640/IMG_0842.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8OrsZ0RghxY/VwLDP8RIg_I/AAAAAAAADPg/JdSpSw3Or6oD30-lEJILgeP6lIFtoA36w/s1600/IMG_0847.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8OrsZ0RghxY/VwLDP8RIg_I/AAAAAAAADPg/JdSpSw3Or6oD30-lEJILgeP6lIFtoA36w/s640/IMG_0847.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/--uz-UwoDxTM/VwLDSbZ03vI/AAAAAAAADPk/KzxzkiwfxBIic7xe2tZB-sEDvjA1qBRXg/s1600/IMG_0852.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/--uz-UwoDxTM/VwLDSbZ03vI/AAAAAAAADPk/KzxzkiwfxBIic7xe2tZB-sEDvjA1qBRXg/s640/IMG_0852.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-H1S3DeLVCKo/VwLDXfs4xNI/AAAAAAAADPo/S6AuL5RqUls2mjIWpnQ-tb3K15-kD86yg/s1600/IMG_0867.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-H1S3DeLVCKo/VwLDXfs4xNI/AAAAAAAADPo/S6AuL5RqUls2mjIWpnQ-tb3K15-kD86yg/s640/IMG_0867.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-HcD4rj52kAU/VwLDfRNlt_I/AAAAAAAADPw/OD1nI40nDAAZHXVLp0hy02RA7vohZ66ow/s1600/IMG_0868.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-HcD4rj52kAU/VwLDfRNlt_I/AAAAAAAADPw/OD1nI40nDAAZHXVLp0hy02RA7vohZ66ow/s640/IMG_0868.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5zX02W-QGpw/VwLDd3D3IaI/AAAAAAAADPs/ftWnJwPisL4EqrrwysoPen9gcmHKhPJGw/s1600/IMG_0869.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5zX02W-QGpw/VwLDd3D3IaI/AAAAAAAADPs/ftWnJwPisL4EqrrwysoPen9gcmHKhPJGw/s640/IMG_0869.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DVbQR5VvLiA/VwLDjUni09I/AAAAAAAADP0/SznhnZBSRfc1iKKajBgKpOdQrqcrfy3kw/s1600/IMG_0860.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DVbQR5VvLiA/VwLDjUni09I/AAAAAAAADP0/SznhnZBSRfc1iKKajBgKpOdQrqcrfy3kw/s640/IMG_0860.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><br />I wander'd lonely as a cloud<br />That floats on high o'er vales and hills,<br />When all at once I saw a crowd,<br />A host of golden daffodils,<br />Beside the lake, beneath the trees<br />Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.</div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; color: #414850; font-family: verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; padding: 10px 0px;">Continuous as the stars that shine<br />And twinkle on the milky way,<br />They stretch'd in never-ending line<br />Along the margin of a bay:<br />Ten thousand saw I at a glance<br />Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.</div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; color: #414850; font-family: verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; padding: 10px 0px;">The waves beside them danced, but they<br />Out-did the sparkling waves in glee: -<br />A poet could not but be gay<br />In such a jocund company!<br />I gazed - and gazed - but little thought<br />What wealth the show to me had brought.</div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; color: #414850; font-family: verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; padding: 10px 0px;">For oft, when on my couch I lie<br />In vacant or in pensive mood,<br />They flash upon that inward eye<br />Which is the bliss of solitude;<br />And then my heart with pleasure fills<br />And dances with the daffodils.</div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; color: #414850; font-family: verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; padding: 10px 0px;">William Wordsworth</div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; color: #414850; font-family: verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; padding: 10px 0px; text-align: center;">.........................................................</div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; color: #414850; font-family: verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; padding: 10px 0px; text-align: left;">The photos are of wild daffodils, a smaller and more delicate flower than their cultivated cousins, in the place that is purported to be the inspiration behind this beautiful poem.</div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; color: #414850; font-family: verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; padding: 10px 0px;"><br /></div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/sustainablemum/~4/tgOPhdpNPr0" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/sustainablemum/~3/tgOPhdpNPr0/the-daffodils.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (sustainablemum)36http://sustainable-mum.blogspot.com/2016/04/the-daffodils.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1151798681951781536.post-4833259836949336898Wed, 30 Mar 2016 23:00:00 +00002016-04-01T16:14:21.407+01:00decorating eggseasterknittingseasonal tablesewingspringBags of Busyness<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MsC8YQdfxfA/Vvv_Jv55VjI/AAAAAAAADN4/iQwVvkB0XM0jKfiIpx7Q673IUB90XS9zw/s1600/IMG_0752.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MsC8YQdfxfA/Vvv_Jv55VjI/AAAAAAAADN4/iQwVvkB0XM0jKfiIpx7Q673IUB90XS9zw/s640/IMG_0752.JPG" width="426" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">March is almost over, gone in a whirl of busyness, a good happy kind of busyness, it has felt shorter than February! &nbsp;I thought, when I sat down to write this post that I had not done much creating and making this month, but as the list grew I realised there was plenty, it has been all about small projects.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-aJeeuOPWmwk/Vvv3fmdD5cI/AAAAAAAADNs/pRq6tN5FDk0Kpwb6cE_pXFMWUBbrW03PA/s1600/IMG_0814.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-aJeeuOPWmwk/Vvv3fmdD5cI/AAAAAAAADNs/pRq6tN5FDk0Kpwb6cE_pXFMWUBbrW03PA/s640/IMG_0814.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />My jumper has grown and I hope will be finished soon, after my last project I knitted for myself ended in failure I have been trying this on regularly to ensure it fits! &nbsp;It is cool enough here to wear wool knits all year round and I chose this colour with that in mind, it will go with both my summer and winter wardrobes. &nbsp;Just a few more rounds on this sleeve and the neck and hopefully a ta da moment soon.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Hb3nl0d6pwg/Vvv3ZE6eruI/AAAAAAAADNs/f2K7h3ce9ggseG_VewEIOHPGJk-ADEs-Q/s1600/IMG_0795.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Hb3nl0d6pwg/Vvv3ZE6eruI/AAAAAAAADNs/f2K7h3ce9ggseG_VewEIOHPGJk-ADEs-Q/s640/IMG_0795.JPG" width="426" /></a></div><br />I wanted to make 2016 the year I sewed something that I could wear, I have been talking about wanting to for the last couple of years. &nbsp;I don't have a dedicated space for sewing, I am a nomad using which ever space is best for each project. &nbsp;There is a lot of effort involved in getting everything out and putting it away, which I have to do each time I want to sew. &nbsp;It has hindered larger projects as I always want to start and finish in one go. &nbsp;I have made peace with the fact that that isn't going to happen and learnt to break down projects into bite sized chunks, the issue then is where to store the work in progress. &nbsp;This is only the second time I have bought and followed a pattern, I usually just make up my own. &nbsp;It is not quite finished yet, I just need to make some bias tape to go round the armholes. &nbsp;I say just I have never made it myself before, I couldn't find any that matched.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-3EXKjwRpl2E/VvwCxb1HlvI/AAAAAAAADOE/61gPLH2V61gUKnEX8h1iUnsdfYuOXw4Tw/s1600/DiggerBagCollage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="358" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-3EXKjwRpl2E/VvwCxb1HlvI/AAAAAAAADOE/61gPLH2V61gUKnEX8h1iUnsdfYuOXw4Tw/s640/DiggerBagCollage.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qqyAsQHDMqw/VvwfdNFBwzI/AAAAAAAADOU/lLxHxHAsf_UUne7IXPhnRHISWrwmkpDPw/s1600/TractorBagCollage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="358" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qqyAsQHDMqw/VvwfdNFBwzI/AAAAAAAADOU/lLxHxHAsf_UUne7IXPhnRHISWrwmkpDPw/s640/TractorBagCollage.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />I am entering birthday season here which is why I thought I had made little progress on projects. &nbsp;Between the end of April and mid June we have 15 birthdays amongst family and friends for most of these I send a present. In the past I have tried to make them all but to give myself enough time I have to start in January which meant that with the Christmas makes I was spending nearly all year making presents a rather ridiculous state of affairs. &nbsp;I make what I can sewing, rather than knitting, as that tends to be quicker. &nbsp;I try and have a theme, so that they are all fairly similar which saves on thinking time! &nbsp;This year it is all about games in bags. &nbsp;I will reveal the contents of the grey bag at the top in a separate post, these colourful bags are for my twin nephews, a bag of beanbags, I shall be making two more this month for a friends children and one other for a June birthday.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_tQgxu01edc/Vvwx5hh4zYI/AAAAAAAADOo/e2PYoLAOWOYMvqvchd8DscrFP5ngKUDCA/s1600/EasterCollage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="358" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_tQgxu01edc/Vvwx5hh4zYI/AAAAAAAADOo/e2PYoLAOWOYMvqvchd8DscrFP5ngKUDCA/s640/EasterCollage.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-C7vy9qMkuSk/Vvwx5cQVUHI/AAAAAAAADOk/3PmqX2OI4pU0qIYel_VWi7gh2fBrY-T_Q/s1600/EasterEggCollage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="358" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-C7vy9qMkuSk/Vvwx5cQVUHI/AAAAAAAADOk/3PmqX2OI4pU0qIYel_VWi7gh2fBrY-T_Q/s640/EasterEggCollage.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />We haven't marked Easter in our house before, inspired by my Advent project, I have started to build a project for us to do each year, stories, crafts, songs and poems. &nbsp;We have been making use of our <a href="http://sustainable-mum.blogspot.co.uk/2016/02/shrinking-and-growing.html" target="_blank">crafternoon</a> time each week to make some small pieces for our seasonal table. &nbsp;We now have two hares, a knitted chick and some decorated eggs hanging from the plant that also sits on the table, they have joined&nbsp;<a href="http://sustainable-mum.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/mother.html" target="_blank">Mother Earth</a>&nbsp;and her root children (who are replaced with flower fairies as they come into season), a snowdrop fairy and a sheep with her lamb. &nbsp;I have wanted to decorate eggs for a number of years, I tried blowing eggs with disastrous results, the shells just kept breaking. &nbsp;Then I chanced upon a new, to me, <a href="http://www.pillarboxblue.com/" target="_blank">blog</a>&nbsp;with the <a href="http://www.pillarboxblue.com/upcycled-denim-eggs/" target="_blank">perfect answer</a>, decorating polystyrene eggs with fabric, I have lots of scraps of fabric! &nbsp;We wanted to hang ours up so I threaded a loop of cotton through the last piece of fabric we glued on. &nbsp;These will keep for years to come, I hope!<br /><br />My socks are still as they were <a href="http://sustainable-mum.blogspot.co.uk/2016/02/shrinking-and-growing.html" target="_blank">last month</a> and the balls of yarn are waiting in a bag, they will get some attention once the birthday season making is over, it is Alice's presents on the top of the list now.<br /><br />Joining <a href="http://www.thistlebearhome.com/2016/04/winter-project-link-party.html" target="_blank">Jennifer</a> for the last Winter Linky Party of the season.<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/sustainablemum/~4/UBPZG0IS1dc" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/sustainablemum/~3/UBPZG0IS1dc/bags-of-busyness.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (sustainablemum)25http://sustainable-mum.blogspot.com/2016/03/bags-of-busyness.html